Extend date for District Level Elections to December — Dean of Presiding Members

The National Dean of Presiding Members (PMs) of District Assemblies, Joseph Korto, has called for a change in the date of the 2023 District level elections from October 3 as scheduled by the Electoral Commission (EC) to December. 

He said holding the district level elections in October would shorten the two-year term of PMs, given that they were elected in December.

Mr Korto also called for an extension of the tenure of office of PMs from two to four years, equivalent to that of all Article 71 office holders.

He made the call at the National Conference of Presiding Members held in Tamale.

The National Conference of Presiding Members is a gathering of PMs from the 261 districts of the country.

The two-day conference was to deliberate on the welfare issues of Assemblies and PMs and identify administrative lapses in the local government system that hindered service delivery.

It was on the theme: The Role of Local Authorities in Ensuring Public Safety: The Business for All. 

Term of office

Mr Korto said “Article 244 (4) of the Constitution states that the term of office for the PM shall be two years and shall be eligible for re-election.

It is our collective view as the miniature Parliament of the local authorities that this clause is unfair to PMs.”

He stated that the process involved in electing PMs was cumbersome, hence reviewing the tenure of office would ease challenges on district assemblies.  

“Currently, some assemblies have not been able to elect their PM after the expiration of the previous term due to some of these challenges,” Mr Korto said.

He also called for a review of the payment of emolument for members from the coffers of district assemblies to the consolidated fund, saying assemblies with limited resources were unable to honour payment to members.

Among other requests of the PMs Mr Korto made included revision of some clauses of the Constitution and Local Government Act to favour the district assemblies in tandem with article 71 office holders, including holding by-elections for vacant district seats.

Recall

The EC at a forum organised by the Centre for Local Governance Advocacy (CLGA) in Accra on June 14, 2023 announced that it has set October 3, 2023 for this year’s District Level Election (DLE) per its scheduled activities.

It, however, said the date for the DLE was subject to change depending on the approval of the proposed new Constitutional Instrument (C.I) by Parliament.

The forum, on the theme “2023 District Level Election: The role of stakeholders and matters arising” was aimed at educating stakeholders about the DLE.

It also discussed ways to improve voter turnout which has been at an all-time low over the years.

The DLE is to elect assembly and Unit Committee members.