By:Jeremiah Nutsugah.
Government Spokesperson on Governance and Security, Dr. Palgrave Boakye Danquah, has advocated for a non-partisan district level elections to preserve the moral conscience and objectivity of the people, as outlined in the constitution.
Speaking on GTV’s Breakfast show on Monday, December 18, 2023, he emphasized the importance of maintaining the non-partisan nature of these elections.
During the discussion, Dr. Palgrave expressed concern about potential disenfranchisement if district level elections were politicized. He stressed the need for a non-partisan approach to ensure that representatives at the local assembly genuinely address the concerns of their communities without being bound by political affiliations.
“It is essential for you to have political orientation, but when representing your community, you must ensure that issues brought forward by the people are addressed objectively,” he stated, highlighting the potential challenges if partisan politics were introduced at the district level.
“ You can imagine that you are politicized already and then you have an MCE who do not belong to your political party, how are we going to ensure that the local assembly gets the needed development they need ?”, he quizzed.
Dr. Palgrave responded to calls from some stakeholders , including the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) and Mr. George Adu Darko, an Assembly member, who advocated for partisan politics in district level elections. He argued that maintaining a non-partisan stance is crucial to fostering effective local development and preventing the loss of citizens’ voices in assembly meetings.
