Voices Unheard – A documentary on SALL, a people pained by voting rights denial

With less than 24 hours to the opening of polls in 2020, the Jean Mensa-led Electoral Commission (EC) announced that the people of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi and Likpe (SALL) in the Oti Region could not vote for a Member of Parliament (MP).

A boundary delineation issue meant they could only participate in the presidential vote as they awaited the resolution of legal processes to fully accord them constituency status to allow them elect an MP for the 8th Parliament.

That wait has lasted four full years, four years of unsuccessful legal challenges, political pressure and a frustrated people at each turn. But they are poised to finally elected an MP in the 2024 general elections.

In this documentary film titled ‘Voices Unheard,’ reporter Godwin Dzigbanu travels between Accra and across the affected areas, speaking to residents, local and political leaders to measure the extent of dejection and frustration.

This 20-minute film documents the pain of a people who describe themselves as ‘political outcasts,’ recalling how beyond political representation, they had been denied basic social amenities, seen a mass exodus of professionals and a stranded youthful population.

The reporter also speaks to leading voices in the four-year long fight to restore the voting rights of the people.

Lawyers Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor and Francis Xavier-Sosu (MP for Madina) lamented the plight of the people stressing the need for accountability on the part of the EC, the courts, the executive and legislative arms of government.

This report was made possible with funding from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, (IWPR) on human rights abuses; ‘Voices for Change (V4C), Ghana 2024 Project’.

You can watch the full documentary here: Voices Unheard: Seeking Justice for SALL Traditional Areas Amidst Voting Rights Denial and Human Rights Abuses.