Background

The seminar was a follow up on the earlier dialogue in September 2018 organised by the EU Delegation, together with Member States, with some Members of Ghana Parliament to discuss the proposed reform of the election system for the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).

Currently a proposal to amend Article 243(1) of the Constitution is being is discussed in Ghana Parliament, which will allow the direct election of MMDCEs instead of nomination by the President. Furthermore on December 10, 2019, a referendum on the amendment of Article 55(3) takes place to decide whether political participation in local governance elections will be allowed. These reforms mark an important step in the decentralisation process in Ghana and the strengthening of local governance.