| Bernard Mornah, the National Chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC), has kicked against the upcoming referendum on the assembly elections on December 17, 2019, because the involvement of political parties in the Assembly elections will not help the candidates as most of the communities do not entertain partisan approach to the Assembly elections. According to him, the Electoral Commission would have no option than to implement what the government had directed it should do, but added that it was up to the citizenry to either vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in the pending referendum. The nation is expected to hold a referendum on December 17, 2019, for the amendment of Article 55 (3) of the 1992 Constitution in view of the steps being taken by the government, by the date of the referendum, Parliament would have completed amending Article 243(1) to take away the president’s power of appointing Metropolitan Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs). Mr Mornah averred that “if the Electoral Commission goes to parliament and parliament says go and amend the law, the Inter Party Advisory Committee will have to implement it because the Electoral Commission will have to do the yes and no vote it is up to us to vote either yes or no. “Winnable candidates in most communities may suffer defeat if they go round campaigning on the ticket of any political party; thus, it is factually known to the assembly members that attaching themselves to the various political parties will affect their chances of becoming the assembly members. “As long as I have life, I will vote no, if I am given two ballot papers, I will still vote no in the referendum because the involvement of political parties in the assembly elections will not help the candidates as most of the communities do not entertain partisan approach to the assembly elections,” Mr Mornah stressed. -peacefmonline.com |
