Parliament finalizing bill to scrap Assembly approval for MMDCEs – MP confirms

Member of Parliament for Daboya-Mankarigu and Chairman of Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, Mahama Shaibu, has announced a major shift in the appointment process for Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), stating that future selections will be done through public elections rather than assembly confirmations.

Speaking during the confirmation of North Gonja District Chief Executive, Abdulai Nashiru, who received a unanimous 100% endorsement from assembly members and government appointees, the MP declared that this would likely be the final time such a procedure is used.

“The Regional Minister was very charitable when he said this may be the last time we will endorse a DCE,” Shaibu said. “Today, I can say on authority as the chairman of the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament that this will be the last time we will endorse a DCE.”

He disclosed that Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee is finalizing a bill to pave the way for the direct election of MMDCEs by residents of the respective districts.

“In the next round, we would elect DCEs just as we elect Members of Parliament,” he added. “Let me affirm to you that there is a knock on my table in that regard.”

If passed, the proposed legislation will mark a historic reform in Ghana’s local governance structure—one that aligns with long-standing calls for increased democratic participation and decentralization.