Former Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah has criticised the government’s proposed modalities for the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), describing the arrangement as inconsistent with calls for a non-partisan local governance system.
In a Facebook post on Friday, Mr Korsah said the decision for political authorities to nominate five persons, from whom three would be shortlisted for an election, was disappointing and did not represent the kind of independent local-level elections many Ghanaians had anticipated.
He argued that the proposed process would maintain the influence of political parties in the selection of MMDCEs, rather than creating a truly independent system.
According to him, allowing shortlisted candidates with political backing to contest the election does not significantly differ from the existing arrangement that reforms are expected to address.
“Ghanaians had wished for a true and proper independent election without having to shortlist three party people and vote from,” Mr Korsah stated, adding that the proposed model “in principle and substance is no different from the status quo that we seek to depart from as a country.”
The former minister, who served under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, said a future NPP government would revisit the process and establish what he described as a genuine concept of electing MMDCEs.
“The next NPP government from 2029 would restore a true and proper concept of an election of MMDCEs in our country,” he said.