Former Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, has questioned the government’s proposed modalities for electing Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), arguing that the process could exclude people who do not belong to the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In a Facebook post on Friday, Mr Korsah criticised the proposed arrangement under which political authorities would nominate five persons, from whom three would be shortlisted to contest the elections, describing the system as inconsistent with the principles of competitive and non-partisan local governance.
“How can it be called a competitive national election when it potentially excludes your political opponents?” he questioned.
According to the former minister, the proposed model risks shutting out qualified Ghanaians who do not share the political beliefs of the governing party or are not members of the NDC.
“At least an outright partisan sponsorship by political parties would have guaranteed opportunity for all sides of the political divide to participate in the elections with whatever the outcome to deepen our decentralisation and democracy. This system would surely and most potentially exclude other Ghanaians who do not share in the NDC party and government’s beliefs or is a card-bearing member from being nominated,” he stated.
Mr Korsah argued that the proposed process falls short of the expectations of many Ghanaians who had hoped reforms would produce a genuinely independent system for electing MMDCEs rather than one that retains political influence over the selection process.
He maintained that allowing political authorities to nominate candidates before elections are held is fundamentally different from the independent local-level elections many stakeholders have long advocated.
“Ghanaians had wished for a true and proper independent election without having to shortlist three party people and vote from.”
The former minister further contended that the proposal does not represent a significant departure from the current appointment system and therefore fails to deliver meaningful decentralisation reforms.
“In principle and substance, it is no different from the status quo that we seek to depart from as a country,” he said.
Mr Korsah, who served under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, indicated that an NPP government would revisit the framework should the party return to power.
“The next NPP government from 2029 would restore a true and proper concept of an election of MMDCEs in our country,” he added.
