Local Governance expert Richard Fiademor has advocated for an amendment to Article 243 of the 1992 Constitution to enable citizens to directly elect Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).
According to him, the current system, where MMDCEs are appointed by the President and approved by district assemblies, limits accountability as the provision fails to provide a criteria upon which MMDCEs should be appointed.
Speaking on ABC in the Morning, he charged the incoming Mahama administration to consider reviewing this provision to allow citizens vote to elect these officials in order to strengthen local governance, increase public participation and deepen democracy in Ghana.
It may be recalled that in 2019, the Akufo-Addo administration initiated moves to democratize the selection of leaders at the local government level with a proposal for the amendment of Article 243 (1) and a further amendment to Article 55 (3) of the Constitution, to enable political parties to participate in local level elections.
But the plan hit a dead end following a lack of bipartisan backing for the referendum to amend Article 55 (3), pushing the President to withdraw these reforms.
“We should amend Article 243. And we should vote for the MMDCEs so it will cure this interference from government.
“And i expect that going forward. H.E John Dramani Mahama in making the appointments should make a strict criteria. So its not a political party … as usual.”
“We also do not want to see political interference when it comes to the work of the MMDCEs.”
