A member of the communication and legal teams of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba has opined that the ‘no’ vote on the decision to politicize the elections at the local Government still stands even though the President has called off the referendum to that effect.
He was speaking on the ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ show hosted by Happy FM’s Kwame Afrifa Mensah.
“My position is that the President does not tamper with the current arrangement at the local Government. If he has withdrawn the referendum, that still means that my choice of a ‘no’ vote stands”, he said.
According to him, the information he has gathered has shown that many Ghanaians believe that their right to choose the form of local governance has been subverted by the President’s decision to abort the referendum.
“The referendum was an opportunity for Ghanaians to tell the President the way they wanted to be governed in terms of local governance. If he [the president] allowed the referendum, he would have known the will of the people”, he added.
President Akufo-Addo announced the cancellation of the referendum on Sunday, 1 December 2019, citing a lack of consensus. However, the largest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said that this action by the President is a convenient way of saving himself from public ridicule.
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah