Running around the referendum
I must admit that until recently, I had not paid much attention to the imminent referendum on December 17 on whether to amend Article 55(3) of the Constitution to allow local level elections along political party lines.
Some genuinely, but erroneously, believed that the referendum is to consider whether or not to allow the direct election of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs), a proposed departure from the current practice of the President appointing them subject to the approval of the relevant assembly.
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That does not require a referendum, but rather an amendment of Article 243(1) by Parliament. Public education on this has been rather weak.
Social media debate
Judging from views expressed so far on social media platforms, it appears there is a near-unanimous clamour for a ‘No’ vote. People seem to prefer the status quo of District Assembly elections conducted without the formal involvement of political parties.
But what I find curious within the ‘No’ chorus is the prevailing view that partisan politics has become such a dirty thing that we should not allow it to cascade down to the local level and contaminate the treasured pristine waters there.
One is tempted to believe that Ghanaians are fed up with the antics and shenanigans, especially, of the two main parties and would rather not have the whole rickety machine moving downstream with their poisonous emissions.
Of course, never mind the fact that anyone who pays any attention to our district assembly elections knows that the political parties lurk behind the scenes anyway, or that there are lots of clues in the colours used by candidates on their posters as to their political allegiance and hence their sponsorship sources.
That is another story.
Togbe Afede XIV, President, National House of Chiefs. Over the weekend the House urged Ghanaians to vote ‘No’ in the referendum
The ‘No’ arguments
If we are so disgusted by partisan politics and all it supposedly entails, such that we do not want it at the local level, how come we are willing to tolerate it at the national level, where big decisions are made affecting the destiny of the nation?
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Would we, today, be willing to accept a General Acheampong ‘Union Government’ proposal that rallied against party politics in the mid-1970s for the same reasons that the ‘No’campaign is espousing?
How come compared to the tainted, rabidly partisan national elections that we supposedly hate, there isn’t such a huge turnout and interest in District Assembly elections?
How come district assemblies, supposedly devoid of partisan politics, are not exactly models of successful governance systems?
Is it the case that in reality we love what we profess we hate?
These and many other questions swirl through my mind as I consider the main plank of the ‘No’ argument.
I am no ardent ‘Yes’ person, but I see some merit in the argument that a ‘Yes’ vote will effectively end or at least control the ‘winner takes all’ notion we all criticise, since the main party that loses the national election will be able to console itself with control of some district assemblies that they will undoubtedly win and probably dilute the sense of exclusion losing parties feel.
From my cloudy crystal ball, I see that it may be difficult for the ‘Yes’ campaign to carry the day.
But then whichever way it goes, I do hope the parliamentary process to amend Act 243(1) to allow the election of MMDCEs will proceed, and that the NDC will not develop cold feet and do a volte-face on this at the eleventh hour as it has done on the issue addressed by the imminent referendum.
Electing the MMDCEs on a non-partisan basis is far better than having them appointed by the President. We can’t afford to be running around on this.
The ‘Awal Bolt’ sprint
Talking of running around, I was thoroughly fascinated over the weekend by a video clip of one Awal Sulemana bursting onto the pitch at the Cape Coast Stadium during a match between the Black Stars and South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching him outrun the security officials, particularly when a fire service official fell down in his futile attempt to apprehend Awal Bolt, as I choose to call him.
Thankfully, he was released from police custody after he was arrested for his antics by the clearly embarrassed, physically unfit and panting officials who had probably had too much fufu, banku or ‘red red’ for lunch.
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Awal brought some sparkle to the game, and he is quite a hero in my books on that score.
By Rodney Nkrumah-Boateng ([email protected])