The National House of Chiefs has joined calls for Ghanaians to vote against the proposed amendment of Article 55 (3) of the 1992 Constitution which will make local government elections partisan.

The referendum has become necessary because Article 55 is an entrenched provision of the Constitution and therefore can only be amended through a referendum.

Government wants Ghanaians to back the proposed amendment through a vote but the National House of Chiefs like the opposition National Democratic Congress and the Chamber for Local Governance is against it.

In a statement, the House said based on recommendations of its Legal Committee it “strongly objects to the proposal that membership of local assemblies should exclusively comprise representatives of political parties, as in the case of Parliament.

“We are therefore advocating for the outright rejection of the proposal to amend Article 55 (3) of the constitution…”

Below is a copy of the full statement: