Intensify civic, voter education - CODEO to election stakeholders 

The Coalition for Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has called all election stakeholders, including the Electoral Commission, the National Commission for Civic Education, media and civil society organisations to intensify civic and voter education efforts nationwide.

It expressed concern about the limited voter education despite some marginal improvement. 

It also urged all political parties and their supporters to continue with peaceful and issue-based campaigning. 

Observation report

This was contained in the second report by CODEO on its observation of the pre-election environment released on Monday, November 18, 2024, ahead of the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections.

The report, covered the period of October 26 to November 8, 2024, based on 193 weekly reports filed by 97 CODEO Long-Term Observers (LTOs) deployed to 97 constituencies across the 16 regions of the country.

It forms part of CODEO’s comprehensive observation of the upcoming election.

Voter education

The report indicated that there had been an overall peaceful campaign environment across the 97 observed constituencies, with political activities remaining largely issue-focused. 

CODEO also called on all stakeholders to intensify efforts, including public education to maintain the generally peaceful political environment at all times during the December 7 polls.

It said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) continue to dominate the campaign scene, while independent candidates and other political parties have limited campaign efforts. 

The report said the political atmosphere remained generally peaceful across the 97 constituencies observed by CODEO LTOs.

It added that no incidence of violence, intimidation or harassment specifically targeting women was noted.  

Abuse of incumbency

CODEO further called on all stakeholders, especially law enforcement agencies to enforce laws that prohibit vote buying and abuse of incumbency, which contributes to uneven playing grounds for all presidential and parliamentary candidates ahead of the polls.

It said observers noted instances of potential abuse of incumbency by incumbent candidates or appointees of the government, adding that about 11 per cent of observer reports noted the use of public (state or local) vehicles for campaigning on behalf of an incumbent candidate.

It cited an instance in the Tatale-Sanguli Constituency in the Northern Region where the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidates’ flyers were used to brand the government-led District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP), which saw the distribution of earth-moving equipment to metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies for road improvement in their various areas of jurisdiction across the country. 

“The campaign flyers of the Tatale- Sanguli Member of Parliament and parliamentary candidate for the constituency were seen on the DRIP equipment (bulldozer), which was being used to maintain and expand roads in the Sagban community,” it said.