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Afari-Djan tours Political Party offices in Ho-East.

Wed, 18 Jan 2006 Source: GNA

Kpetoe (V/R), Jan 18, GNA - Dr Kwadwo Afari-Djan, the Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), has said the commission had no plans to increase the number of electoral areas in the country before the district assembly elections this year.

He said it was not the vastness of an area that is taken into consideration before an electoral area or constituency is created but the population of the area.

Dr Afari-Djan said this at Kpetoe during a tour of offices of political parties in the Ho East Constituency on Tuesday. It formed part of his tour of offices of all registered political parties in all the constituencies in the Volta Region to ascertain the extent to which they had complied with all the provisions of the Political Parties Act 2000, Act 574.

Dr Afari-Djan said, for instance, that some constituencies north of the country covered an area of 100 square kilometres as compared to the Greater Accra Region where some covered an average of 28 kilometres and advised those agitating for new electoral areas and constituencies to exercise restraint.

He said the number of members of Unit Committees would be reduced. The EC Chairman explained that not all the 15 members of the committee were active and also that some communities found it difficult to get the 15 people.

Dr Afari-Djan advised political parties to keep functional offices in all the constituencies because it would help them organize their supporters at the grassroots.

He also advised them not to rely solely on membership dues but venture into income generating activities like farming. Mr Mawuli Kwame Dabi, District Chief Executive, thanked Dr Afari-Djan and his team for the visit and said such inspection tours would keep the party executives on their toes.

Some of the parties whose offices the EC Chairman visited were that of the New Patriotic Party, NDC and Reform Party.

The executives of the PNC hosted the EC officials at an open space of a compound house with the excuse that they were recently ejected from their office.

Dr Afari-Djan and his team had earlier made similar inspection in the Ho Central constituency.

Source: GNA