{"id":266288,"date":"2016-11-08T15:30:52","date_gmt":"2016-11-08T15:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=266288"},"modified":"2016-11-08T15:30:52","modified_gmt":"2016-11-08T15:30:52","slug":"dont-engage-drunks-as-polling-agents-ec-pleads-with-parties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/11\/dont-engage-drunks-as-polling-agents-ec-pleads-with-parties\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t engage drunks as polling agents – EC pleads with parties"},"content":{"rendered":"
Lydia Agyiri, the New Juaben Municipal Electoral Commission (EC) Director, has pleaded with various political parties not to engage the services of drunkards as their polling agents in this year’s elections.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Agyiri made this call during a presentation at a day’s workshop organized by the Regional Peace Council for some representatives of parliamentary candidates and party executives at Koforidua in the Eastern Region.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n She said, “there have been situations where political party polling agents come to polling centres drunk, raising unnecessary alarm on everything that goes on, causing problems and delaying the electoral process.”<\/p>\n She added that, ” party polling agents who talk a lot at polling centres fail to observe the electoral exercise well, they go tired, some fall asleep and the rest leave the centres in no time.”<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Mrs. Agyiri urged political parties to engage competent polling agents who are well vest and abreast with the electoral process to help make the exercise very smooth and easy.<\/p>\n She explained that “working with agents who understand the ins and outs of our electoral system and how it works makes our work very easy.”<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n She then encouraged the political leaders to build healthy relationships with their various District Electoral Commission Directors to get first hand information and not to rely on social media.<\/p>\n Mr. Paul Lawer Narh, the Municipal Director of NCCE for New Juaben, speaking on electoral education at the workshop, expressed worry about the number of rejected and spoilt ballots during the 2012 elections.<\/p>\n He said “the issue of rejected and spoilt ballots is of much concern to us.”<\/p>\n He added that “civic education is not the work for only NCCE staff, but you all should come on board to compliment our efforts, we are doing our best to solve the issue of spoilt ballots but we need your help to achieve that.”<\/p>\n