The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has charged the Electoral Commission (EC) to stick to the timelines for the district assembly election, scheduled for March 3, 2015.
[contextly_sidebar id=”4guP4QWaUFtb6GVgEc1hRVEJQKZe3H4I”]CODEO in a statement signed by its Coordinator, Mr Albert Kofi Arhin urged the EC to “as much as possible stick to the new timelines for the 2015 local government elections to boost public confidence in the local government elections.”
The EC has postponed the elections several times because of different financial and administrative constraints.
Government in 2014 released over GHC55 million to the EC to organise the district assembly elections.
CODEO after observation of the pre-election environment ahead of March 3, said while commending the EC, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) should intensify education of citizens on the elections.
According to the statement, “during the period of observation, CODEO observers also noted that some individuals suspected of engaging in multiple voter registrations were sent to court for prosecution.”
It observed that some of the individuals found guilty were banned from taking part in electoral activities for a period of two years and others fined between “50 to 120 Ghana Cedis.”
Although the EC is yet to confirm and certify aspirants as candidates for the local government elections, “CODEO observers reported that some aspiring candidates in the observed districts continued with their election campaign.”
“In some instances, some of these aspirants were seen making various promises particularly relating to the development of their communities. In the Sekyere East and Dormaa Central districts in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions respectively, for instance, some candidates have been making promises such as providing electricity, street lights and water to their electoral areas,” the release added.
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By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/citifmonline.com/Ghana