Keep off assembly elections ; CODEO cautions political parties
The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has cautioned political parties to desist from their discreet involvement in the district assembly elections, as it is against the law.
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“CODEO is reassured that the Electoral Commission (EC) has taken steps to disqualify aspirants who flout the law with regard to political party affiliation. CODEO urges the EC to strictly apply the law on offending political parties as well to deter others from such acts,” it said.
It also advised candidates in the forthcoming district assembly elections to desist from making promises that they could not fulfil in a bid to woo voters.
This was contained in CODEO’s third pre-election environment observation statement on the 2015 District Assembly Elections issued in Accra yesterday.
It expressed concern over the lacklustre attitude exhibited by civil society organisations (CSO) towards the upcoming elections and urged the CSOs, especially women and disabled groups, to show more interest in the elections by whipping up the interest of women and persons with disability.
“The media should hold more programmes concerning local governance to educate the public on the importance of the district and unit committee elections,” it advised.
Main findings
The statement said during the pre-election observation exercise, discreet political party intrusions were observed in the upcoming elections.
It said it was also observed that some individuals or groups were engaged in the destruction of the posters of some aspirants.
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It said the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) continued with its education on local governance and sensitisation of women and persons with disability to stand and be voted for, while prospective aspirants continued with their campaign for votes.
The statement said the EC had also started the training of its temporary staff across the country for the elections and also completed the transfer of votes and the replacement of lost voter ID cards.
It gave an assurance that CODEO would continue to observe and inform the public, through monthly press releases, about activities and preparations of stakeholders towards the upcoming local government elections.
It commended the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for its support for the exercise.