Who runs local government in Ghana?
Ghana's local government is built around 261 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs). Seventy per cent of assembly members are elected on a non-party basis, but 30% are appointed by the president, and each assembly's chief executive is nominated by the president. Chiefs are strongly protected by the constitution, sit in a National House of Chiefs and 16 regional houses, and hold most land in trust for their people, but they are barred from party politics.
Republic of Ghana · Unitary presidential republic · Western Africa
The levels of government below the nation
| Level | How it is chosen | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Regions (16) | Regional minister appointed by the president; Regional Coordinating Council includes MMDA heads and two chiefs from the regional House of Chiefs | Coordinates and monitors districts; not an elected government. |
| Metropolitan (6), municipal and district assemblies (261 in total) | 70% of members elected without party labels; up to 30% appointed by the president in consultation with traditional authorities and others; MPs sit without a vote. The chief executive (MMDCE) is nominated by the president and needs approval from two-thirds of the assembly | Main local government: planning, sanitation, basic schools and health facilities, local taxes and bylaws. |
| Sub-metropolitan, urban, town, zonal and area councils | Mix of assembly members, unit committee representatives and government appointees | Carry out tasks delegated by the assembly; no power to make bylaws or set rates. |
| Unit committees (around 16,000) | Mix of elected and appointed members | The lowest level, covering a few hundred to a few thousand people: communal labour, sanitation, registering births and deaths. |
Three questions about local power in Ghana
Are local leaders elected?
Assembly members (70%) and part of unit committees are elected. Chief executives and 30% of members are appointed by the president. Chiefs are chosen by custom (nomination by kingmakers).
Which laws set up local government?
Assemblies, Houses of Chiefs and stool lands are all in the constitution and the Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936) and Chieftaincy Act 2008. How a chief is chosen and many land rules are customary.
Who are local leaders accountable to?
Voters can recall an elected assembly member (petition by 25% of voters, then a vote). The president can remove chief executives, and the assembly can remove them by a two-thirds vote. Chiefs can be destooled under custom; Houses of Chiefs settle chieftaincy disputes.
Traditional and customary authority
Chieftaincy is guaranteed by the constitution (Chapter 22): Parliament may not pass laws that interfere with the right of anyone to become a chief under custom. Chiefs are chosen by their families and kingmakers according to custom. The National House of Chiefs advises on chieftaincy, studies and codifies customary law, and its judicial committees hear chieftaincy disputes; there are 16 Regional Houses and many local traditional councils. Stool and skin lands (land held by chiefs on behalf of their people) are vested in the stool or skin, and their rents are managed by the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands. A chief must not take part in active party politics and must abdicate to run for Parliament.
Community and neighbourhood power
Unit committees are the state's neighbourhood level. In practice, chiefs' 'gong-gong' (a beaten gong announcement) is still used to call communal labour, and hometown associations, church groups and youth groups raise money for schools, clinics and festivals.
Points to know
- Local elections are deliberately non-partisan: candidates may not use party symbols, and parties may not campaign for them (Article 248).
- Because the president appoints the chief executive and 30% of members, the ruling party has strong influence over every assembly.
- Chiefs are formal (in the constitution) but not elected, and they are accountable mainly through custom and the Houses of Chiefs.
- A plan to hold a referendum in 2019 to allow party politics in local elections was cancelled shortly before the vote.
- Only about 5% of assembly members elected in 2015 were women.
Local terms
- MMDA
- Metropolitan, Municipal or District Assembly: Ghana's main local council.
- MMDCE / DCE
- The assembly's chief executive, nominated by the president.
- Stool / skin
- The symbol of a chief's office in the south (stool) and north (skin); stool lands are lands held by that office for the community.
- Unit committee
- The lowest level of local government, covering a small area.
Sources
- Constitution of the Republic of Ghana 1992 (rev. 1996), Constitute Project, checked 14 October 2026
- The Local Government System in Ghana: Country Profile 2019, Commonwealth Local Government Forum, checked 14 October 2026
- Ghana: country profile (subnational government structure and finance, 2022 edition), OECD–UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI), checked 14 October 2026
- Electoral Commission of Ghana – official site, Electoral Commission of Ghana, checked 14 October 2026
See also: Ghana's official statistics and leaders · the 10 levels of power.