Settle debate on partisan local governance in proposed 2027 referendum – Government told

Ghana must finally settle the long-running debate over partisan and non-partisan local governance by putting the matter before citizens in the proposed 2027 referendum, a Development Practitioner, Douglas Quartey, has said.

According to Mr Quartey, after 34 years of practising a non-partisan system, which various studies and sections of the public, including political elites, have recognised as not reflecting political realities at the grassroots, Ghana must confront the issue as part of efforts to strengthen decentralisation and local governance.

Speaking at an Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG)-Oxfam Citizens’ Forum on the theme, “Constitutional Reform and Democratic Decentralisation in Ghana: The Way Forward for Local Governance,” he called on the Government to consider well-thought-out proposals by think tanks such as IDEG to amend Article 55(3) as part of the proposed constitutional reform referendum.

Quartey noted that the debate dates back to the national conference on the adoption of the 1992 Constitution, where the Consultative Assembly failed to reach consensus on political party participation in District Assembly Elections and therefore maintained the local governance arrangements introduced during the PNDC era, when political parties were prohibited.

Furthermore, the Prof Albert Fiadzo-led 2012 Constitution Review Commission noted that, considering prevailing circumstances and citizens’ views on the issue, Parliament should in the near future amend Article 248 to allow political party participation in local governance, Mr Quartey added.

He argued that after years of debate without consensus, the 2027 referendum provides a unique opportunity for citizens, rather than political actors alone, to make a sovereign decision on whether political parties should formally participate in local-level elections.

According to Quartey, public attitudes towards partisan local elections also provide grounds for revisiting the issue. He cited the 2024 Afrobarometer survey, which found that 47.6% of respondents supported the idea that candidates to district assemblies (Assembly Members) should contest on party platforms, compared to 43.5% who disagreed.

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Against this background, Mr Quartey maintained that the issue should no longer be left solely to political actors. He urged that the question of political party participation in district assembly elections be included in the proposed 2027 referendum, allowing Ghanaians to determine the future direction of local governance.

BAI

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