EC Chairman urges Media to publicize elections issues

Ho, May 3, GNA - Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commission has appealed to media organizations to consider undertaking public education on election issues as part of their corporate social responsibility policy.

He said in as much as media organizations have to make some money, they were bound by their service ethics to actively promote the good of society without prompting.

Dr Afari-Gyan was addressing the Volta Regional Inter-Party Advisory Committee forum on building stakeholders' confidence in the outcome of the 2008 Elections in Ho on Friday. He said the current practice in which media organizations demanded payment for every bit of service regarding publicity for the election processes was not good for society. "Elections are so important. They affect out very lives and none has to tell you of the public service duty that you have," Dr Afari-Gyan stressed.

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and KAB Governance Consult, a Ghanaian NGO in good governance advocacy, organized the forum in collaboration with the EC.

About 40 representatives of political parties and media organizations attended the forum, which discussed the inbuilt integrity of Ghana's electoral process and results, as well as challenges of the replacement of lost ID cards in the Volta Region, expectations and challenges of the forthcoming voter's registration exercise and the role of political parties in achieving credible elections. Ms Laurentia Kpatakpa, Volta Regional Director of the EC, said 29,734 had filed for the replacement of their lost or defaced ID cards. She said the use of mobile teams with a publicized schedule visits, minimized problems of access and promised that the same system would be used, if need be, cover all areas during the coming limited opening of the electoral register. 03 May 08