Northern Regional Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) lawyer Sulley Sambian has described as laudable, the decision by the current government to fulfill its campaign promise of ensuring that Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) are elected.

According to him, the decision by the NPP was a bold one, intended to fill the democratic deficit caused by the appointment of MMDCEs.

Lawyer Sulley Sambian made these remarks at Modern City hotel in Tamale at a program organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to sensitize stakeholders on the decision of the government to make the position of MMDCEs elective.

He stated that the “election of MMDCEs will strengthen local government structures and give more energy to our democracy”.

“The president of the Republic of Ghana is elected, not appointed. The unit committee members who are at the bottom of the local government structure are elected. Again, most of the assembly members of the district assemblies are elected, yet the key person, namely chief executives of these assemblies are appointed”, he observed.

Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama explained that the benefits of electing MMDCEs on partisan basis were to promote local democracy by giving the opportunity to choose their own leaders.

Hajia Mahama stated that security of tenure of office protected the elected MMDCEs since the president could no longer sack them, which would make them certain that they had the minimum of the four-year term just like Members of Parliament (MPs).