The Dean of Graduate Studies at the Institute of Local Government Studies, Dr Eric Oduro-Osae, has recommended that the Assembly Members’ election should be done on the streaks of partisan politics.

He made this suggestion following the failure of the members of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to elect a Presiding Member after a fifth attempt on Tuesday, September, 27.

READ ALSO:KMA Elections KMA fails to elect Presiding Member again

Members of the assembly have been divided between the two candidates, Nana Kofi Senya and Adumhene Baffuor Agyei Kese IV (who has now stepped down).

According to the constitution, one will need two-thirds majority of votes cast to be declared the Presiding member of the assembly.

The fifth attempt to elect a new presiding member turned chaotic. Fresh nominees have however been put up for elections, slated for Friday, September, 30.

READ MORE:Election 2016 Exchange of blows at election of KMA Presiding Member

Dr Oduro-Osae who spoke on Accra-based Accra FM said: “We the electorate who vote for the assembly members, we should have the opportunity to call them (Assembly Members) to order because we put them there to represent us and so we need to ask whether the failure to elect a Presiding Member is what we sent them there to do.”

“We need to explain to the assembly members that they don’t represent themselves; they represent the people of the area urging government appointees to add value to the assembly process.

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“It means the approval of the Assembly’s budget for 2017 will be difficult. Seth Terkper will be reading the 2017 national budget in November. Before he will do that, the budget of the assembly will need to be approved by the Presiding Member in order to be incorporated into the national budget. If the time comes for Mr Terkper to read the budget, that of KMA will not be included because there is no Presiding Member to approve their budget. All these coupled with no Chief Executive for KMA is retarding development in Kumasi.

"We have reached a stage in Ghana where we must go all out to elect assembly members. We need to elect all of them and cancel the ‘government appointees’ arrangement. If we will elect them on partisan lines, it should be that way, just as is done in parliament," he concluded.