Ghana is scheduled to hold its District Level Elections on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, following the expiration of the term of the Assembly and Unit Committee Members on December 17, 2023.
According to Electoral Commission (EC) figures, there are about 18,755 candidates contesting for the assembly members’ position while 47,502 candidates are contesting for the unit committee member’s position making up a total of 66,257 candidates across the country.
The Electoral Commission’s data also revealed that there are 6,215 electoral areas spread among the 216 metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) that make up the electoral battlefield for the Tuesday 19 December contest.
In line with section 5(1)(b) of the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462), 6,215 of the assembly member candidates will be elected to the role of Assembly Members serving the 216 MMDAs while 31,075 of the 47,502 candidates running for office will be elected as unit committee members.
While many democracy enthusiasts consider the district-level elections as the bedrock of democracy, there appears to be a growing lack of concern among voters towards Ghana’s district-level elections, which Tuesday, December 19 would not be of exception.
It is worth noting that in Ghana, decentralization was properly instituted in 1988 to promote participatory democracy and to enhance service delivery, however, for almost thirty-five years of its practice, the concept has not effectively achieved these objectives particularly due to the low voter turnout in local election as a result of citizens’ general lack of interest.
While some sections of the public have attributed the growing low voter turnout in Ghana’s district-level elections to the lack of a ‘fixed date’, the Electoral Commission of Ghana, the body responsible for the management of elections in the country has attributed the phenomenon to the non-partisan nature of the country’s district-level elections.
The Minister for Local Government Decentralization and Rural Development, Honorable Daniel Kwaku Botwe has decried the declining voter turnout of district-level elections in the country since its inception in 1988.
Speaking at the climax of the Odwira festival in Adukrom-Akuapem in the Eastern Region over the weekend, the Member of Parliament for Okere constituency recounted that the highest voter turnout for a district-level election was 56% in 1988, followed by 42% in 1998, but the lowest turnout was 33% in the most recent election.
He made a comparison between the low turnout in district-level elections in the country and the 70% turnout in presidential and parliamentary elections in the country.
A Call For Massive Participation In Tuesday, December 19 District Level Elections
However, Honorable Dan Botwe, the Minister for Local Government Decentralization and Rural Development urged voters to take part in the Tuesday, December 19 district-level elections.
Honourable Dan Botwe highlighted the importance of district-level elections in the country’s democratic experiment and asserted that district-level elections are the cornerstone of Ghana’s democracy.
“Our objective this year is to record at least 50% voter turnout. This week I have been talking a lot and granting a lot of interviews concerning the elections and people will be asking questions and expecting what will happen in the Minister in charge’s backyard, Okere we have 21 electoral areas so Nananom I will plead with you to ensure that people turn out to vote”.
Honorable Daniel Kwaku Botwe
From the foregoing, it is without doubt that district-level elections are very important to every democracy, particularly Ghana’s fledgling democracy.
There is therefore the need for the Electoral Commission, and other institutions in the country which are concerned with voter participation such as the National Commission on Civic Education to develop strategies to enhance electoral education and voter participation to stimulate an increase in voter turn-out ahead of Tuesday, December 19 2023 and subsequent district level elections.
