On December 17, 2019, Ghana will conduct a referendum alongside district level elections.
However, the Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Kweku Baako Jnr wishes that the referendum would be deferred, especially with a recent press conference held by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) where they urged Ghanaians to vote ‘No’.
“I don’t know whether it’s too late to abandon the project . . . my whole sense is that it’s not going to come on, they won’t give us the two thirds,” Kweku Baako said while contributing to a panel discussion on Peace FM’s morning show ‘kokrokoo’.
According to him if we underestimate the implications of what the main opposition NDC has done, “we will be joking.”
“They’ve breached faith, they’ve shown that they can be very diabolical,” he told Kwami Sefa Kayi.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has asked Ghanaians to vote against the proposed amendment of Article 55 (3) of the 1992 Constitution which will make local government elections partisan.
Article 55 (3) states that “subject to the provisions of this article, a political party is free to participate in shaping the political will of the people, to disseminate information on political ideas, social and economic programmes of a national character and sponsor candidates for elections to any public office other than to District Assemblies or lower local government units.’’
The referendum has become necessary because Article 55 is an entrenched provision of the Constitution and therefore can only be amended through a referendum.
At a press conference Tuesday, Chairman of the party, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo said the local government system should remain non-partisan and that individuals should contest the District Assembly and Unit Committee elections on their own merit.
Listen to the video below to understand why the renowned journalist wants the referendum suspended.
Source: peacefmonline.com
