Upper East Regional Director of Electoral Commission, James Arthur-Yeboah has called on the media in the region not to be quick to “disgrace” the Commission with their reports, rather, they should consider educating the public on what they should do and not to do, during campaigns and on the voting day.
According to Mr. Arthur-Yeboah, even though he wouldn’t expect the media to praise the Electoral Commission unduly, he also expects that, the media wouldn’t make it a priority to paint the Commission black before the public.
“The Commission is a human institution and it is possible that there may be few challenges and when these challenges come up, you can call our attention and I can assure you that, if it is within our power, we will address them quickly but if you want to report a challenge on your various platforms; please don’t make up your mind to destroy the Electoral Commission or expose it to public ridicule. We all need to protect the image of the Electoral Commission and get Ghanaians to trust the Commission.”
Mr. Arthur-Yeboah was speaking at the close of a Training Programme in Bolgatanga for media practitioners in the Upper East Region on the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections and highlights of Constitutional Instrument 94. The European Union sponsored programme, was meant to get the Media practitioners to understand some changes in the existing procedures and the Electoral Commission to answer questions the media need answers to, to enable them work effectively on the Election Day.
The Regional Director of EC, could not tell if any of the parliamentary aspirants from the Upper East Region had been disqualified, saying, the Headquarters had not yet said anything about that.
He, however, hinted that a total of 67 persons across the Upper East Region had picked and returned their nomination forms, but three of them could not produce their bank drafts to prove that they had paid their filing fees. The 67 Parliamentary Aspirants were made up of 61 males and 6 females and one visually impaired person who was contesting in the Chiana-Paga Constituency.
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