EC sets Dec 17 for referendum on election of MMDCEs

Announcing the new date in Accra, Director of Elections at the EC, Dr Serebour Quaicoe said the Commission settled on the date after clearing all legal hurdles concerning the referendum.

The EC initially set December 10 for the process, however, due to some injunctions that was brought against it, they had to change the date.

Dr. Quaicoe said: "I’ll like to inform you that the election date is not on the 10th but on the 17th. What happened was that we drew our programme on the 10th but you’re all aware that we were in court on the just ended registration and lost 12 days and because of that we were compelled to choose 17th …so, I can say formally, all things being equal the elections will be held on the 17th of December and it’s on a Tuesday.”

Speaking at the same forum, the Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, underscored the need for a unified front in supporting the amendment of Article 55 (3) of the 1992 Constitution which allows for the election of MMDCEs.

Hajia Halima Mahama and President Akufo-Addo Pulse Ghana

According to Dr Akwetey, the initiative is welcomed by civil society organisations since it aims to empower the people in speeding up development at the local level.

Dr Akwetey said the government was behind schedule in organising the referendum and stressed that it was important to organise the referendum this year to avoid encouraging political infiltration due to the 2020 parliamentary and presidential elections.

The election of MMDCEs was one of the main campaign promises of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the run up to the 2016 general elections.