While the Electoral Commission of Ghana is preparing to conduct the district-level elections in some districts in the Eastern and Ashanti Region that they could not participate in Tuesday, December 19 polls, the two leading political parties, the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress on the other hands are counting their wins and losses after the Tuesday polls.
Even though the district-level elections per the 1992 Constitution and other electoral laws in the country are non-partisan, reports and public commentaries of some leading members of the two political parties reveal a high level of partisan participation during Tuesday polls.
It is without an iota of doubt that in previous and recent elections, the two political parties including their Members of Parliament in their respective constituencies have sponsored majority of the assembly member aspirants in the district-level elections in the country.
In the Effutu Constituency, for instance, supporters of the Deputy Majority Leader of Parliament, Alexander Afenyo Markin in a loud chant of celebration claimed that it won all the eighteen electoral areas within the constituency.
On the other hand, the Deputy Director of Special Duties of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Comrade Brogya Gyenfi in a statement to dismiss claims suggesting that persons affiliated to the governing New Patriotic Party have won significantly in the district-level elections strongly posited that his party has won the majority of the Assembly Members elections across all the sixteen regions in the country.
The former Ashanti Regional Youth Organizer for the opposition National Democratic Congress asserted that data the party has gathered thus far shows massive wins for its members and supporters who contested the district-level elections across the country.
“For example, in Greater Accra, they were annihilated without mercy. They couldn’t make, even a 30% showing in that region. In the District of Krowor, no NPP affiliate won in the 12 EAs. It is 12/12 for us. Also in a difficult terrain like Anyaa Sowutuom, we moved from 1 in 2019 to 8 currently while the NPP dwindled from 12 to 5”.
Brogya Gyenfi
Proud of the party’s notable victories in the nation’s district elections, Mr Gyenfi went on to say that the National Democratic Congress had won eighteen electoral areas in Walelwale, the home district of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President and Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, compared to thirteen for the party.
It is important to note that Article 248 Sections 1 and 2 of the 1992 Constitution precisely bans partisan involvement in district-level elections in the country.
“A candidate seeking election to a District Assembly or any lower local government unit shall present himself to the electorate as an individual, and shall not use any symbol associated with any political party. A political party shall not endorse, sponsor, offer a platform to or in anyway campaign for or against a candidate seeking election to a District Assembly or any lower local government unit”.
Article 248 Section 1&2 1992 Constitution of Ghana
The question is what stops institutions mandated by law to ensure that the spirit and letters of Article 248, Section 1&2 is upheld.
The manner in which the two leading political parties in the country, the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress are blazingly counting their gains and losses in the Tuesday polls must be worrying for the country.
The basis on which district-level elections are designed to be non-partisan is to ensure that candidates focus on local issues and community needs rather than aligning themselves strictly with political ideologies.
The blazing partisan sponsorship in the district-level elections in recent times undermines the non-partisan nature of these elections, which has gradually led to increased polarization and party-based campaigning across the country.
Among other things, the high level of political parties’ involvement in the district-level elections is resulting in the politicization of local issues across the country. Thus instead of addressing community needs, candidates now prioritize party interests, potentially neglecting the diverse concerns of the local people.
There is therefore the need for institutions mandated by the laws of the country particularly the Electoral Commission to enforce its regulations to maintain the integrity of the non-partisan district-level elections in the country.
Either way, the country must take immediate steps to amend its laws to allow political parties to formalize their conduct and operations by sponsoring candidates in the district-level elections rather than feigning the hypocrisy of political parties sponsoring candidates under the current regime.
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