We need the media - Electoral Commission at Graphic National Development Series

The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has reiterated its commitment to collaborating with the media to ensure transparency in the December 7 general elections, following concerns about its decision to limit media access to collation centres.  

Speaking at the Graphic National Development Series in Accra, Dr Bossman Asare, Deputy Chairman of the Commission in charge of Corporate Services, addressed the public outcry over a leaked memo that proposed quotas on media access to constituency and regional collation centres.  

"We recently sent a memo to our regional and district offices about the media houses to work in the collation centres. We thought we had sent this information to only our officers. Apparently, that information got into the public domain, and many people have said, 'Oh, why are you restricting the media in the collation centres?' The EC has had discussions with the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), and we've also engaged the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), so we have put it on hold," Dr Asare explained.  

The deputy chairman clarified that the initial move was aimed at ensuring orderliness in potentially congested collation centres. "We shouldn't forget that you can be in a particular region, there will be about 400 media houses, and the collation centre may be like this room or even smaller. So if you want to give unimpeded access to all the media houses, you may end up having challenges," he said.  

Dr Asare underscored the Commission’s reliance on the media as a critical partner in delivering credible elections. "In any case, if there is any institution that needs the media now, it's the Electoral Commission. We need Graphic. We need all the major media, even the smaller media houses—we need you. I want to assure you that the Electoral Commission will not do anything to undermine the work of the media," he added.  

The EC has since announced plans to engage further with GIBA and GJA to devise a more inclusive policy for media accreditation at collation centres. A statement from Samuel Tettey, Deputy EC Chair in charge of Operations, affirmed the Commission’s intent to balance transparency with orderliness during the collation process.  

The GNDS platform, organised by the Graphic Communications Group Limited, served as a timely opportunity for stakeholders to address pressing issues ahead of Ghana's crucial December polls.  

Watch the event below;