By Benjamin A. Commey/Philemon Kwarteng
Accra, June 14, GNA – Dr Eric Oduro Osae, a Local Government Expert, has called for the amendment of
Article 55(3) of the 1992 Constitution allows for the participation of political parties in district level
elections and governance.
He said allowing political parties to participate in such elections would whip up citizens’ interest, address
issues of low turnout and increase participation in local governance.
The Electoral Commission has set October 3, 2023 for the conduct of the district assembly elections.
However, with barely four months to the elections, concerns have been raised by some state and non-
state actors such as the National Commission for Civic Education over low citizens’ interest ahead of the
exercise.
Speaking at a stakeholder consultative forum organised by the Centre for Local Governance Advocacy
(CLGA) on the 2023 District Level Elections, in Accra, on Wednesday, Dr Osae said, despite the
The constitutional guarantee of the right to vote, there had been gross apathy among the citizenry in local
governance elections leading to low turnout.
Turnout for district-level elections, he said, had been declining from 59.3 per cent in 1988/89 to 33.6 per
cent in 2019 as against a national turnout of the 2020 Presidential elections of about 78.89 percent.
Dr. Osae said to address the issue going forward, Ghanaians must “bite the bullet” by allowing the
amendment of Article 55(3) to permit political parties’ participation in the district-level elections.
Government, between 2018 and 2019 pursued the amendment of Article 55(3) to enable multiparty
participation in the districts and 243(1) for the election of MMDCEs, as part of efforts to reform the local
governance system and devolve more power and resources to the local communities.
However, a planned national referendum scheduled for December 17, 2019, was canceled for lack of
adequate public knowledge and broad-based consensus on the reforms it would entail.
Dr Osae said “……….if we think involvement of political parties is not good at the national level, we
should ban it but if we continue along those lines, then we should bring it to the local level too because
what is good for the goose is good for the gander,” he said.
The forum brought together civil society organisations, faith-based organizations, assembly members,
the NCCE, and youth groups, among others.
The purpose of the forum was to among other things, draw the attention of relevant stakeholders to the
critical issues related to the district level elections, raise awareness of the 2023 district level elections
and strengthen the capacity of CSOs, FBOs, and traditional authorities to mobilize citizens for improved voter
turnout.
Mr Samuel Tettey, a Deputy Chair in charge of Operations at the Electoral Commission said the
The commission was concerned about the low turnout at district level elections and called for collaborative
efforts to address it.
On the 2023 district assembly elections, Mr. Tettey said plans were far advanced to conduct a free, fair
and successful district level elections come October 3.
Currently, he said, the Commission waiting for Parliament to approve its Constitutional Instrument (C.I.
91) currently before it which would enable them to commence registration of the electorates.
“Some of the activities and I told you that some of the activities are internal, you know, like the logistics
that we need for the district level elections, the commission has actually started procuring them. So the
only thing left with us is with the approval of the draft C.I. by parliament,” he said.
Mr. Dan Botwe, Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation, and Rural Development, expressed
Government’s commitment to deepening decentralization and enhancing development at the local
level.
He said in the coming days, the Ministry would collaborate with key stakeholders such as the Electoral
The commission, NCCE, ILGS, OHLGS, RCCs, and MMDAs to intensify sensitization ahead of the elections.
GNA
GRB
