Election of local government representatives
Ghana at a local level is governed by metropolitan, municipal, or district assemblies (the size of the local government unit determines whether it is a district, municipality, etc.).
Currently, the president directly appoints the executives, known as MMDCEs, who lead these local government units.
In addition, parties aren’t legally able to endorse local candidates running for local assembly, although they are often actively involved.
In their 2016 manifesto, the NPP and its candidate Akufo-Addo pledged to sponsor two bills which would allow citizens to vote for chief executives and also overturn the ban on political parties participating in local elections.
Sixteen days before a referendum scheduled for December 2019 on whether political parties should be able to endorse local candidates, Akufo-Addo cancelled it.
Analysts say that amid threats from the opposition to mobilize people to reject the proposal, Akufo-Addo feared the referendum didn’t have the required support. The referendum needed at 75% of ‘yes’ votes to pass with at least 40% voter turnout.
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The bill to overturn the ban on political parties participating in local elections was also withdrawn by the government from parliament following strong opposition from traditional leaders and other critics.
The team rates this as PROMISE STALLED
By: Isaac Kaledzi, Rabiu Alhassan
