Let’s collaborate to get MMDCEs elected

The last time Ghana had a national referendum was on April 28, 1992. It was to decide on a change of government from a military regime to multiparty democracy.

The main issue that came up for Ghanaians to decide on was whether or not they agreed to the re-introduction of party politics and the division of power between the President and Parliament. There were 8,255,690 registered voters for that referendum.

Majority of voters — 92.59 per cent or 3,408,119 voters — voted for the proposition, while 7.41 per cent or 272,855 people voted against it.

Twenty-six years later, Ghanaians are once again being called upon for a national duty. We are being called upon to exercise our responsibility as citizens to decide on whether or not an article in the 1992 Constitution would have to be reviewed to allow local-level elections on political party basis.

The article to be decided upon in the referendum on December 17, 2019 is Article 55 (3) which states: “Subject to the provisions of this article, a political party is free to participate in shaping the political will of the people, to disseminate information on political ideas, social and economic programmes of a national character and sponsor candidates for election to any public office other than to the district assemblies or lower local government units.”

A ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum will allow political parties to participate in shaping the political will of the people, to disseminate information on political ideas, social and economic programmes and sponsor candidates for election to any public office at the district assemblies or lower local government units, while a ‘No’ vote will do otherwise.

The referendum, which comes off in a few weeks’ time, has engendered sharp opinions, with some groupings rooting for a ‘yes’ vote and others a ‘no’ vote.

Some experts point out that although the 1992 Constitution proscribes the sponsoring of candidates for local and unit level leadership, it is being done overtly and covertly during our district level elections.

Indeed, the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) and other local electoral observers have noted and documented the profligate expenditure on individuals overtly sponsored by political parties at the local level.

The challenge posed by that scenario has resulted in some institutions, such as the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), pushing for the transformation of politics at the local level by encouraging parties to participate actively in it.

In their view, encouraging the active participation of political parties at the local level will also help defuse the intractable tension in the country each electoral year.

However, this contrasts with some schools of thought that are of the view that polarisation at the national level is going to be replicated fully at the local level if multi-party participation at that level is allowed.

For us at the Daily Graphic, we wish to see more engagements and enhanced public education to get majority of the citizens to understand what is at stake for the good of the nation.

We believe that, ultimately, the election of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) is a laudable idea, since it will deepen accountability and good governance at the local units. But we first need to cross the bridge — the forthcoming referendum.

This is where all stakeholders, including the political parties, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), the Electoral Commission (EC), politicians and governance institutions, including civil society organisations, should get involved to make the national exercise a success.

We would like to commend President Akufo-Addo for behaving selflessly and agreeing to give away some of his powers by initiating the process and making statements to that effect in his State of the Nation Address to Parliament on February 8, 2018.

We also commend the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) for the work done so far to bring us 33 days away from the referendum, and also the EC for its preparations towards the day.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) cannot be left out in this commendation, for it is by its activism that various nuances of initiatives are seen and processes made better.

However, the Daily Graphic proposes an effective collaboration to address what is left for a successful referendum, come December 17.

It is our contention that the MLGRD must consider the views of all stakeholders in all its endeavours.

If we all want our local representatives to be elected, then let us all work selflessly in getting that done, collaborating for our good and the good of generations unborn.