5 Constituencies enhance knowledge of free elections
Five constituencies in the Upper East Region are benefitting from a new project aimed at ensuring peaceful, free and fair non-violent 2016 elections.
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Dubbed: "Enhanced citizens participation in Election 2016," the project is being implemented in the Bolgatanga Centra,l Bolgatanga East Bongo, Nabdam and Talensi constituencies.
The project, which started on April 1, this year, would end on December 31, 2016. It is targeted at the youth, men, women, Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) and the aged in the beneficiary constituencies.
The initiative, which is being jointly implemented by TradeAid Integrated, a non-governmental organisation based in the Upper East Region with support from Star-Ghana, would ultimately sensitise the constituents to election-related issues that have the potential of marring the electoral processes in the selected constituencies.
The project is being implemented against the backdrop of limited understanding and lack of appreciation of the importance of elections, inadequate knowledge and skills in the voting processes resulting in high numbers of rejected ballot papers, as well as the inadequate participation of the vulnerable segment of the society like the PWDs in the electoral processes, issues that had characterised previous elections.
Key issues
During the inaugural ceremony of the project at Bolgatanga, participants, made up of political parties, traditional rulers, civil society groups, the police and media practitioners, brainstormed issues such as how best to make the 2016 electioneering issues-based and what could be done to ensure that the use of money to influence eligible voters would not destroy the country's democracy. Another issue that was discussed by the participants was how best to ensure that vulnerable groups like the PWDs and the aged participated actively in the 2016 electioneering.
Rejected ballots
The Project Manager, Mr Simon Amoah, expressed worry about the high number of rejected ballots in previous elections and expressed optimism that the outcome of the project would help to correct those anomalies in the five beneficiary constituencies.
He further explained that it was the expectation of the project implementers that the five selected constituencies would have the lowest electoral issues, including the lowest number of rejected ballots in the November polls.
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Mr Amoah indicated that the key strategies being used to achieve results included community-led voter education,radio-based voter education, practical demonstration of proper voting procedures, role plays and target-focused discussions.
He explained that the key institutions and media houses that would be used were the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Radio Gurune, A1Radio and URA Radio of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation - all in the Upper East Region.
A board member of TradeAid Integrated, Mr Daniel Damka, noted that the five beneficiary constituencies would become model constituencies in ensuring free, fair and non-violent elections.
The Executive Director of TradeAid, Mr Nicholas Apokerah, observed that issues of vote buying and personality attacks instead of issues-based campaigns would be avoided by the end of the project in December.