Sylvia Annor, Head of Public Affairs, EC
The media has been urged to certify information from the Electoral Commission before declaring elections results during the December 7 election.
According to Sylvia Annor, Head of Public Affairs at the Electoral Commission (EC), it is only the Chairperson of the Commission that is mandated to declare certified election results after the final vote count.
Speaking at a dialogue held in Accra, Mrs Annor appealed to the media to desist from declaring election results irrespective of their projections.
The dialogue was a joint collaboration between the EC and the Youth Bridge Foundation, held on the theme “Election Offences: The Unspoken Threat to Peaceful Elections”.
“There have been occasions where some media houses in communicating with the general public during elections have declared results, and that is wrong. It is only the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission that has the mandate to declare the results of the presidential elections,” she explained.
“For the results of the parliamentary elections, it will be declared by the returning officers at the collation centres,” Sylvia Annor added.
NCCE steps up education
In a related development, the Ashanti Regional Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has intensified public education on political tolerance as the December polls get closer.
The directorate in the last few weeks has extended its education to institutions, including banks, police stations, and education directorates in the Kumasi metropolis.
A team of officials from the NCCE, led by the Deputy Regional Director, Mrs Akua Zakaria, has been taking education on political tolerance and COVID-19 safety protocols to shops, markets, homes, lorry stations, and information centres.
This forms part of the Commission’s determination to sensitise the public on the need for a peaceful election and strict adherence to all safety protocols of COVID-19.
Mrs Zakaria said the Constitution guarantees every citizen of sound mind and above 18 years the right to vote and must exercise their franchise without any hindrance.
Respect
She further stated that the electorate have the right to vote for any political party of their choice, saying it is important for the citizens to respect each other’s decision to support a particular party.
She said political parties represent ideologies that they seek to govern the nation, when given the mandate of the people, hence joining any of them must not result in enmity between friends and families.
“There is no need for vigilantism and political violence due to differences in political ideologies in our body politics because the contests between the parties are all about improving the lives of the people,” she observed.
She called for peaceful coexistence to ensure a violence-free election to strengthen Ghana’s democracy for posterity.
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