The Regent of Dagbon has endorsed calls for depoliticization of the district assembly and unit committee elections.
Minister for Local Government, Julius Debrah has launched a vigorous campaign against the phenomenon.
[contextly_sidebar id=”MPPKc4l5uzCMhIdiSnj3bBvBpyhpYw9N”]During his recent five-day working tour of the Northern Region, Julius Debrah asked traditional rulers in the area to discourage the practice.
The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has also raised alarm over the practice.
CODEO in a recent report accused the two major political parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of openly sponsoring their members contesting the district assembly and unit elections.
In the opinion of the Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya Naa Abdulai Andani, voting persons contesting the elections on partisan lines is wrong.
He advocated the election of competent and loyal people into the various district assemblies regardless of their political affiliations.
The Dagbon Regent raised this concern at his Gbewaa palace in Yendi when the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Julius Debrah paid a courtesy call on him as part of his five days working visit to the Northern Region.
He lamented, “the district assembly election is something that is becoming partisan, you see NPP and NDC assemblymen and that is not the case: it is brewing a lot of problems in most of the districts where the confirmation of a DCE comes to be.”
He added, “most of the municipalities have a problem so I think that attitude should be erased if not at some places they will not be able to get a representative like DCE if we all base on NPP and NDC assemblymen: this is something that I think you should look at it very carefully.”
The Kampakuya Naa observed that politicization of the local governance elections was pervasive in the Yendi Municipality.
“It is common in Yendi and our own regional minister will bear with me that it is common in Yendi here.”
He called for intensive voter education on the upcoming district assembly and unit committee elections scheduled for March 3 to avoid voter apathy.
“People don’t attach any seriousness especially when it comes to assembly elections: they are only particular about what the MP can get them because assemblyman has nothing, so they think that the MP is more important than electing the assemblyman.”
He added, “So when it comes to electing assembly men people don’t come out, is a fact and so there is the need to have massive education on the assembly elections.”
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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana