One thousand and sixty-nine CDD/CODEO election observers for Ashanti

Kumasi, Nov. 2, GNA - The Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) in collaboration with the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) would train 1,069 observers at the district level to monitor the elections in all the 39 constituencies in the Ashanti Region. Mr Thomas Abdulai Boateng, Ashanti Regional Co-ordinator of CODEO, who announced this, said the observers could not cover all the 3,667 polling stations in the Region but they would report from as many polling stations as possible.

He was speaking at a day's CDD/CODEO Ashanti Regional Training of Trainers' Workshop for election observers in Kumasi at the weekend. He said: "We know for certain that while all the 39 constituencies in the Region would be covered for observation purposes, we cannot cover all the polling stations due to logistic problems."

Mr Boateng stressed that the district level training would take place at zonal centres, which were derived from the combinations of adjoining districts.

The Regional Co-ordinator named the 10 zonal centres as Kumasi Metropolis, Konongo, Obuasi, Nkawie, Agona/Mamponteng, Bekwai, Mampong, Tepa and Ejisu and said, "all these workshops would take place concurrently on November 18".

Speaking on some election offences at the workshop, Mr Steve Opoku-Mensah, Deputy Ashanti Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC); said it was an offence to compel somebody to vote in a particular way.

He said it was also an offence for anybody to forge, destroy a nomination form or a ballot paper or a certificate of results related to the elections.

Mr Opoku-Mensah pointed out that people had to be very careful on the election day because anybody caught divulging information about whom a voter was about to vote for or had voted for in any way would not be spared because it breached the secrecy of the vote.