The Electoral Commission (EC) has now settled on December 17, this year for the referendum on the election of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs).
Earlier, the EC had fixed December 10, 2019, for the referendum.
The Director of Electoral Services at the EC, Dr Serebour Quaicoe, announced the new date at the launch of a coalition formed by some civil society organisations (CSOs) to push for the election of MMDCEs in Accra yesterday.
He said the change in the date was occasioned by the delay caused by the injunction application by a citizen, Mr Umar Ayuba, to the Supreme Court to stop the limited registration of voters which formed part of activities in the road map to the referendum.
Mr Ayuba filed the injunction against the EC’s decision to limit the limited voters registration exercise to its district offices on grounds that the move would disenfranchise many people.
The Apex Court dismissed the injunction on June 12, this year, but Dr Serebour said the legal action had affected their timelines, hence the change in the date for the referendum.
Dr Serebour called for the support of stakeholders such as the media, the Judiciary, political parties and the general public to help the EC deliver on its mandate.
CSO Coalition
The government has activated a process to amend two clauses in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana to pave the way for the election of MMDCEs and to allow for political participation in local level elections.
Two bills seeking amendments to Articles 243(1) and 55(3) for election of MMDCEs and introduction of political party participation in the local elections have been presented to Parliament to be passed.
The CSOs coalition is, therefore, meant to engage key stakeholders including the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the leadership of Parliament to speed up the amendment process.
The coalition is being spearheaded by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), the Centre for Local Governance Advocacy (CLGA) and the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG).
Source:Fiilafmonline/Graphic
