Election stakeholders on Monday urged the electorate to participate in the Tuesday, December 19, District Level Elections (DLEs) to deepen the nation’s decentralization concept to enhance good governance.
They comprised the Electoral Commission (EC), the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), the National Peace Council (NPC) and civil society.
Per the District Level Elections Regulations, 2015 (C.I. 89), the Electoral Commission will conduct the District Level Elections on December 19, this year.
This follows the expiration of the term of the Assembly and Unit Committee Members on December 17, 2023.
Speaking in separate interviews with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, the stakeholders indicated the DLEs remained an integral component of not only strengthening decision-making processes but also facilitating accelerated national development.
However, they expressed worry that successive DLEs in the country continued to register unimpressive turnouts and attributed it partly due to pertinent challenges, including poor publicity, and citizens’ inadequate knowledge of the local government concept, structures, and its relevance.
Mr. Raphael Godlove Ahenu, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Sunyani-based Global Media Foundation, a media advocacy and human rights Non-Governmental Organisation noted citizens involved in the general electoral processes remained poor.
As the nation’s electoral management body, he said the EC needed to educate the masses on the relevance of the DLEs to whip their interest to participate in the DLEs.
He said though responsibility also behooved CSOs to contribute and augment the efforts of the EC in sensitizing the citizens, they were also confronted with financial challenges and stressed the need for the government to resource the NCCE to enable the commission to undertake its constitutional responsibilities of sensitizing citizens on civic education.
Despite inadequate funding, Mr. Benjamin Kyere, the Sunyani Municipal Director of the NCCE, explained the commission was working hard to educate citizens to understand, appreciate, and contribute towards consolidating the gains of the nation’s democracy.
He emphasised voters remained critical stakeholders in the DLEs, stressing that the commission had adopted strategies including “market storm”
where personnel of the commission reached out to and sensitized market women also capitalizing on the numerous information centers to reach out to the masses.
According to Nana Akosua Akomah Dankari, the Sompahemaa (good servant) of the Sunyani Traditional Area, people were apathetic and reluctant to participate in the DLEs because they did not see the relevance of the Elections.
She therefore called on the EC and all stakeholders to intensify public education on the DLEs to help whip the enthusiasm and interest of voters to participate in the elections.
Mr. Guggisberg Asirifi-Young, the Bono Regional Director of the EC, explained the commission had put up measures to ensure preferential treatment was given to people with disabilities, pregnant women, the aged, and other marginalized voters to enable them to cast their ballot when they go to the polls.
“We have assigned personnel to take care of these voters by ensuring that they do not waste much time or join queues at the voting centers”, he added and advised everybody to cooperate with the personnel.
He said security at the polling centers was guaranteed, saying the commission had extensively worked with the security agencies in maintaining law and order at the voting centers.
Alhaji Suallah Abdallah Quandah, the Bono Regional Executive Secretary of the NPC highlighted the relevance of peace and advised the various aspirants contesting the DLEs to have confidence and trust in the EC in conducting credible DLEs.
He said peace remained a pre-requisite for development, saying without absolute peace, the assembly members could not perform their mandate effectively.
Alhaji Quandah also urged the EC to hold free and fair elections and advised the voters to ensure they leave the voting centers after casting their ballots.
He also advised all stakeholders to ensure they complied with the electoral process and avoid tendencies that could compromise and mar the DLEs.
Source: GNA
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