Former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu admits to deliberately blocking MMDCE election amendment
Haruna Iddrisu, former Minority Leader and current Minister for Education, has admitted to intentionally obstructing the Akufo-Addo government's efforts to amend the 1992 Constitution to allow for the election of metropolitan, municipal, and district chief executives MMDCEs. Speaking on August 10, 2026, in Accra, at the Second National Dialogue on Decentralisation, Iddrisu stated that the then-minority, which he led, was aware of constitutional issues with the proposed amendment but remained silent to later use these issues to derail the agenda. He explained that President Akufo-Addo sought to amend Article 2431 to make MMDCEs elective, but did not address Articles 2433 and 248, which concern the President's power to remove DCEs and the non-partisan nature of assembly elections, respectively. Iddrisu recounted instructing minority members not to comment on the proposed amendment, allowing 90 days to pass before highlighting the constitutional gaps, thereby defeating the amendment. He also challenged the notion of non-partisan assembly elections, advocating for an overhaul of Ghana's decentralization system to make MMDCE elections elective to deepen democracy.
