Jean Mensa, Electoral Commissioner of Ghana (middle) flanked by her Deputies Dr. Bossman Asare (right) and Samuel Tettey
The Electoral Commission (EC) is addressing concerns raised by media stakeholders about its directive limiting access to the constituency and regional collation centres for the 2024 general elections.
The directive restricts media accreditation to eight outlets per constituency collation centre and 12 per regional collation centre, a move aimed at ensuring orderliness during the collation process.
However, this decision has drawn criticism, with stakeholders questioning its potential impact on transparency and inclusivity.
Responding to the concerns in a statement, the EC announced yesterday that it was in discussions with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) to find a workable solution.
“As a listening Commission, we are engaging with the leadership of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) on the issue and trust that we will arrive at an arrangement that is both workable and acceptable,” the EC stated.
Commitment
The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, ensuring that all constituency, regional and national collation centres would remain accessible to the media.
At the same time, it emphasized the need for controlled access to maintain order and peace during the collation process.
“The Commission is keen on ensuring the highest level of transparency in its operations, hence the opening up of all its Constituency, Regional, and National Collation Centres to the Media,” it said.
“In doing so, the Commission is mindful of the need to ensure an orderly and peaceful process at all the Collation Centres, hence the quotas on the number of persons who can access the centres at any given time,” the statement further noted.
The EC expressed confidence that its discussions with GJA and GIBA would result in a resolution that allows media partners to perform their roles effectively without compromising the integrity or efficiency of the collation process.
