The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has endorsed the government’s decision to make Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) elective.
He said the move was critical to deepening democratic decentralisation and making local government more accountable to the people.
He, however, said the elections must remain non-partisan to prevent the acrimony associated with national party politics from filtering into local governance.
Mr Iddrisu, who is also the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, was speaking at the 2026 National Dialogue on Decentralisation and Responsive Governance in Accra last Monday.
Event
The dialogue on the theme: “Re-setting Democratic Decentralisation for Accountable Public Service Delivery and Accelerated Local Development,” was organised by the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Council on Decentralisation (IMCC).
The annual event marked the African Union Decentralisation and Local Development Day (ADD) and celebrated both Ghana's contribution to the continent's decentralisation agenda and the shared achievements of member states in advancing local governance and development across Africa.
Context
The Tamale South MP’s position is significant because, as the then Minority Leader in Parliament in 2019, he was instrumental in frustrating the Akufo-Addo administration’s attempt to amend the Constitution to introduce elected MMDCEs alongside partisan local elections.
Mr Iddrisu openly recalled his role in the earlier controversy, saying he had deliberately exploited constitutional gaps in the proposal to frustrate its passage.
He said the then President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, had sought to amend Article 243(1) to replace presidential appointment of MMDCEs with election, but failed to address other constitutional provisions relating to the removal of MMDCEs and the non-partisan nature of local elections.
Mr Iddrisu said he had advised the Minority Caucus not to participate in the debate until the constitutional period for the proposal elapsed, after which they drew attention to the omissions.
“I don't want a repeat of this under the NDC government,” he said, suggesting that the lessons from the 2019 attempt should inform the current reform process.
Non-partisan
Mr Iddrisu said the current proposal should not repeat the partisan dimension of the earlier initiative.
The government has committed to the election of MMDCEs on a non-partisan basis, in line with the broader objective of reducing political polarisation at the local level.
The Constitution Review Committee (CRC) also recommended the election of MMDCEs, while retaining the non-partisan character of local elections.
The Tamale South MP said the country must nevertheless resolve the modalities for the elections, particularly whether candidates should contest as individuals or under political party tickets.
New policy
The position formed part of the government’s wider decentralisation reforms under the National Decentralisation Policy and Strategic Framework (2026–2030), which identifies political decentralisation as one of its six key pillars.
The framework seeks to deepen citizen participation, accountability and local decision-making, with the election of MMDCEs forming part of the effort to give local government greater democratic legitimacy.
Mr Iddrisu said elected MMDCEs would, however, need adequate financial resources to deliver effectively.
He,therefore, reiterated the government’s commitment to gradually increasing the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) from five per cent to 7.5 per cent to strengthen local governments and support the devolution of functions.
