Stakeholders must get involved in local level polls - NCCE advises

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has encouraged all stakeholders in the district level elections to take active interest in the forthcoming polls scheduled for March 3, this year.

In the view  of the commission, such a move would enhance maximum participation in the exercise.

According to the commission, district assembly elections had been recording low turnout as a result of its non-partisan nature but it was hoping for a reversal of the trend this time round. 

The Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs of the NCCE,  Mrs Joyce Afutu expressed regret that citizens participation had been low in the district level elections, which were equally as important as  the national elections.

She said the commission was, therefore, intensifying public education across the country to whip up interest in the polls.

Background

In all, about 19,527 candidates are contesting the elections to fill  6,156 electoral areas as assembly members throughout the country at 26,890 polling stations.

Activities

Mrs Afutu said a number of activities had been rolled out since the last quarter of last year to raise the awareness about the district level elections as well as sensitise voters to the importance of the elections.

She said the activities included stakeholder engagement which involved women and  youth groups, traditional leaders, as well as religious  and opinion leaders, across the 216 districts in the country.

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She added that community durbars and focus group discussions were on-going  at the  local level where they met to discuss the problems of their communities in the hope of finding solutions to them.

Concept

Mrs  Afutu further said a drama about the effects of not participating in the elections was staged to explain the concept of the assembly elections to the communities .

She said the NCCE also made use of cinema vans which showed films on the elections to the communities as well as visiting faith-based organisations such as mosques and churches to explain the concept to them.

Physically challenged

So far, Mrs Afutu said, the NCCE had printed posters  and stickers with some emphasising the need for all citizens, including the physically-challenged, not to be left out in district level governance because it was their right to articulate their views on the development of their areas.

Elections

The Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs  observed that unlike the national elections where their representatives sometimes lived in the cities as Members of Parliament, the assembly members lived in the communities with the citizens faced the same challenges in the electoral areas.

Mrs Afutu commended the European Union for assisting the NCCE to produce billboards, posters and stickers which were contributing greatly to raise the awareness of the citizens about the forthcoming elections.