With less than 24 hours to the district assembly polls, election observers group, the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), is worried about the general disinterest in the process.
This was revealed in CODEO’s pre-election monitoring report released on Monday.
[contextly_sidebar id=”aCxrQm0uIQnjSvfeJc0gneEZ9fMpRibH”]The co-chair of CODEO, professor Miranda Greenstreet said the postponement and poor publicity for the assembly elections have contributed to people’s indifference for process, a situation she said is “dangerous for our democracy at the district level.”
The survey which was conducted in over 86 districts across the country, also revealed, the Electoral Commission (EC), the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and civil society organisations have not prioritised the district level elections, insisting that over the years the running of assembly elections has been abysmal.
CODEO further observed that there were covert and overt involvement of political parties in the elections; violating the political parties Act, 2000.
The report also said the delay in this year’s election will constrain the development of the districts.
It explained that even if successful elections are held on Tuesday, the assemblies have up to October to submit their composite budget to the Finance Ministry.
Meanwhile, President John Mahama’s 30% nomination to the assembly will also not be made.
CODEO will deploy 700 observers across the country to monitor the process.
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By: Raymond Acquah/citifmonline.com/Ghana