Jean Menssa, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission
Ghanaians will today, Tuesday December 17, go to the polls to elect Assembly Members for the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs). But for the withdrawal of the processes leading to the referendum to amend Article 55(3) of the 1992 constitution by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, today’s election would have also included the referendum.
The electorates will elect one Assembly Member for each electoral area and five unit committee members for each of the various electoral areas.
However, in electoral areas where candidates vying as unit committee members are less than five the candidates stand unopposed and therefore will be no election in such areas.
Unlike general election where the Electoral Commission (EC) takes charge of all the processes, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) is in charge of the organisation and planning of the District Assembly elections.
This notwithstanding, the EC takes care of the Constitutional Instruments (CIs) for the electoral areas, voter register, exhibition, and nomination of candidates for the process.
All set
According to the EC, electoral materials were dispatched to the regions last week. Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, Director of Electoral Services, has stated that the electoral materials can only be sent to polling stations on election day and called on officers who will be involved in the processes to come out with plans that will ensure prompt and swift delivery of materials today.
At a press briefing in Accra on Monday morning, the Deputy EC Chairman in charge of Operations, Mr Samuel Tettey, stated about 159,000 electoral officers have been trained for the elections. The trained electoral officers are to man the various polling stations for the exercise.
Special Arrangement for PWDs
The EC as part of the processes has instituted a special arrangement to allow vulnerable and Persons Living with Disabilities (PWD) to vote without joining a queue.
Mr Tettey, who made this revelation, said such people including pregnant women and the aged would be given special preference during the elections. This, he indicated is to ensure that such persons do not go through stress whilst casting their votes.
No Elections in three Districts
Meanwhile according to the EC, there will be no election in three districts. The districts are Lower Manya Krobo, Nkoronza North and Nkoronza South. This is because these districts had their elections in 2018 and therefore Assembly Members in these areas have about three more years to complete their term in office according to the Local Government Act.
Vote for Women
The National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) has, however, called on the electorate to vote for more women for increased participation and effective discourse in the district assemblies.
General Secretary, Mr Kokro Amankwah, in a press release stated that the gender gap in the assemblies, which had been in favour of males, is a cause for concern hence the need to bridge the gap this time.
