Stakeholders must remain committed in making local governance resilient –Dr Richard Fiadomor

A governance expert, Dr. Richard Fiadomor believes there won’t be an increase in voter participation unless there are systematic reforms.

Dr. Fiadomor, who is also the President of the Chamber of Local Government, says what should be of concern to Ghanaians rather, is about the accountability of assembly memebers to their electoral areas and the people they serve.

He further stated that voters will queue for long hours during presidential and parliamentary elections because they believe that when their party wins, the likelihood of getting political appointments, contracts and other political opportunities are more realistic.

On the issue of making District level elections partisan and also declaring election day a public holiday in order to encourage voter participation, Dr. Fiadomor believes that will not make any significant shift since elected Assembly members and unit committee members are not paid, and they do not have control over resources in their locality, and the motivation for people to vote will still not be there.

“Obviously, when people believe their vote won’t make a difference, they are unlikely to cast a ballot,” he said.