President engaged stakeholders before calling off referendum — Kwesi Jonah

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo consulted key stakeholders to elicit their opinions before announcing the decision to call off the December 17 Referendum, a Senior Research Fellow of the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Mr Kwesi Jonah, has stated.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the issue, Mr Jonah said it was clear at the meeting, which included representatives of civil society organisations, religious bodies and chiefs, that there was a weak national consensus on the issue, hence the need for the government to cancel it to allow for a much broader discussion on the issue.

"I was not disappointed with the President's decision because we need a national consensus for the amendment of Article 243(1) and Article 55(3) of the Constitution to be fully operational," he explained.

Money spent

Mr Jonah explained that although money had been spent to educate the citizenry on the referendum, the ballot paper could still be used in the future because no date had been printed on it.

He, however, said the country had missed the opportunity to reform its democratic governance by electing Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCES) because of the internal wrangling among political parties and section of the populace.

Difficult situation

Under the 1992 Constitution, Article 243 (1) provides: “There shall be a district chief executive for every district who shall be appointed by the President, with the prior approval of not less than two-thirds majority of members of the assembly present and voting at the meeting.”

An amendment of this article, which would have required two-thirds of Members of Parliament to vote in favour, would have taken away the powers of Presidents to appoint MMDCEs.

Article 55 (3) of the 1992 Constitution, which is an entrenched provision, 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 the district assemblies or lower local government units.”

A ‘Yes’ vote on this article would have allowed political parties to sponsor candidates DLEs.

Mr Jonah said it would have been difficult to get the required approval of two-thirds of the Members of Parliament to amend Article 243 (1) without the approval of the Minority.

Cancellation

President Akufo-Addo, on Sunday, December 1, 2019, directed the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama, to abort the processes and withdraw the two bills before Parliament.

In a televised address, he explained that he assumed office with the firm conviction emanating from the campaign and national discussions that there was a national consensus for the two amendments to the country’s governance system which would enhance its effectiveness and accountability.

President Akufo-Addo expressed surprise that after an initial consensus among key stakeholders, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) made a U-turn and said the party was no longer prepared to go along with the national consensus, indicating that they will actively campaign for a ‘No’ vote.

The New Patriotic Party, the National Democratic Party and the Progressive People's Party in their 2016 manifestos pledged to initiate the necessary actions to ensure the election of MMDCES. - GNA