Accra, Nov. 13, GNA
– The leadership of the Concern Voters Movement (CVM) is urging the New
Patriotic Party (NPP) and President Akufo-Addo to discontinue the campaign for
a YES VOTE in the upcoming Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chiefs
Executives (MMDCEs) Referendum on December 17.
It said all members
of the NPP should campaign and vote against the Election of MMDCEs since
National Democratic Congress (NDC) has failed to support such a laudable
policy.
A statement signed
by Mr Razak Kojo Opoku, CVM Founder and President and copied to the Ghana NEWS
agency on Wednesday said, though it was a campaign promise to the good people
of Ghana, there was the need to admit that such a policy required
Constitutional amendments unlike other campaign promises.
“We need
two-third majority in Parliament to amend Article 243(1) of the Constitution
and about 74 per cent of the total valid votes cast during the referendum to
pave way for the amendment to the Article 55(3) of the Constitution.
“First, we need
to understand that Majority in Parliament would need the support of Minority to
reach the two-third majority to amend Article 243(1) to pave the way for
election of MMDCEs. Again whether the election of MMDCEs should be partisan or
non-partisan, the policy would require the support of Ghanaians through a
referendum”.
The statement
however said that the betrayal of the NDC and its Minority in Parliament would
be a clear sabotage to this referendum exercise, adding that, there was no way
we could achieve the YES VOTE since the NDC are advocating a NO VOTE, and this exercise demands full
Inter-Party Consensus especially from the two leading Political Parties.
It said if, NO vote
wins on December 17, Referendum, it would create suicidal tendencies for the
NPP ahead of the 2020 General Election, which would give some political
audacity to the 2020 campaign of the NDC.
The statement urged
the NPP to avoid the political risk factors associated with the election of
MMDCEs.
It said the NPP and
Government needed to officially boycott the MMDCEs Referendum and shoot down
the amendment process for Article 243(1) in Parliament.
It said the NPP
should allow the National Commission on Civic Education, the Institute of
Democratic Governance, Centre of Democratic Development, and NDC to cause
political misfortunes for the New Patriotic Party.
It said: “CVM
is totally against election of MMDCEs largely due to the “political
stance” of the NDC.
GNA
