Elect MMDCEs On Non-Partisan Basis -KNUST Don

A planning educator and senior lecturer at the Department of Planning at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Stephen Appiah Takyi, has called for the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) on a strictly non-partisan basis.

He argued that Ghana’s local governance system would not be fundamentally transformed if political parties continued to exercise influence over the selection of local government leaders.

His position comes amid a debate over proposed reforms to the selection of MMDCEs following the report of the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC).

In its position on the CRC report presented on July 30, 2026, the government endorsed the direct election of all MMDCEs, replacing the current presidential appointment system.

However, it modified the CRC’s proposed implementation framework by requiring the President to nominate five candidates, including at least two women, from whom three candidates, including at least one woman, would be shortlisted to contest the election.

The government also rejected the CRC’s proposed phased implementation, under which elections would initially be held only in districts considered fiscally ready, arguing that such an arrangement could create regional discrimination and political divisions.

It has proposed holding the necessary constitutional referendum alongside the 2027 District Assembly elections to reduce the cost of organising separate electoral exercises.

In a Facebook post in July 2026, journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni argued that former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s proposal for the election of MMDCEs on party lines was “far better and more democratic” than the current government’s proposal.

But Dr Appiah Takyi disagreed, saying both approaches were politically based and would not adequately address the underlying weaknesses in Ghana’s local governance system.

“As I indicated, both are political-based, and it will not end up solving the problems at the local level,” he said in an interview with The Ghanaian Chronicle.

He said the proposed nomination arrangement would continue to give political authorities influence over local governance and argued that Ghana should instead open the contest to all competent citizens, regardless of their political affiliation.

“The real proposal is, let’s vote for MMDCEs on a non-partisan basis. Anybody, whether the person is a politician, a pastor or an academic, can just go and say, ‘Vote for me. I have ideas to improve upon the local area,’” he said.

According to Dr Appiah Takyi, political parties had, over the years, failed to consistently produce local government leaders capable of managing assemblies as efficient corporate entities.

“Over time, political parties have failed to select mayors who manage the local government system as a corporate entity,” he said.

He argued that the consequence was that Ghana continued to lose opportunities to mobilise local resources and enforce the regulatory mandates of assemblies.

He said non-partisan elections would create room for people with innovative ideas, including those who did not align with any political party, to participate in local development.

Such a system, he argued, could foster “competitive governance”, with citizens assessing candidates based on their development plans and performance.

Local governance

Dr Appiah Takyi said effective local governance was critical not only to Ghana’s democracy but also to its development.

He linked persistent challenges, including flooding, uncontrolled urban development and poor waste management, partly to weaknesses in local governance.

He explained that assemblies had important responsibilities in enforcing planning regulations, implementing local bylaws, regulating land use, managing waste and mobilising local revenue.

“Local governance systems bring democracy to the doorstep of the people,” he said, adding that local authorities were expected to identify community needs and incorporate them into development plans.

He also argued that non-partisan elections could reduce the financial burden associated with party primaries and political campaigns, which could have implications for accountability, corruption and efficiency in governance.

Dr Appiah Takyi maintained that democratic governance did not necessarily require every aspect of public administration to be organised along partisan lines.

“We have given enough of our powers and authorities to the political class to prove themselves. When we give people the power and authority to prove themselves, we cannot continue to be doing trial and error,” he said. “Let’s try another strategy of governance.”

 

 

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