The National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) is confident that there will be improved participation in the district-level election scheduled for Tuesday, December 19, 2023.
Fredrick Mawuli Agbenu, the Upper East Regional Director for the NCCE, speaking on A1 Radio’s Mark Smith, expressed confidence that the NCCE’s work, along with the efforts of other state and non-state agencies in furthering education on elections, has resonated well with the general population.
“In fact, this year, we are seeing a revitalization of the grassroots, and more people are becoming interested in going out there to vote. If you look at the number of people who have presented themselves as candidates, you can see a whopping 60 thousand plus people who have offered themselves to be voted for. What we are telling the people is that these are the individuals or representatives who are going to be controlling your district assembly common fund. Therefore, go out there to vote to ensure that the right persons are sent to the assemblies to control your community fund.”
“These representatives live with us. You can just walk out and meet them in their houses and present your issues to them. The MP and the president are far away. The President, you may see him once in your lifetime or see him on television, but the assembly member and the unit committee members would be with you within the community, and you can always take your issues to them for onward submission to the assemblies,” he said.
Mr. Agbenu added that research findings have indicated that development policies generated directly from the community level can transform local communities. Thus, residents need to participate heavily in the district-level election to elect the right people into the assemblies to develop better policies for local-level development.
Meanwhile, the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) has expressed grave concern that only 2.6 percent of persons who have put themselves forward for consideration in the upcoming district-level elections in the Upper East Region are women.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled Tuesday, December 19, 2023, for the district-level elections across the country. In the Upper East Region, a total of 947 people are contesting as assembly members and unit committee members in various electoral areas. Out of the entire number, only 25 are women.
When Fredrick Mawuli Agbenu, Regional Director for the NCCE, spoke to A1 Radio’s Mark Smith on the Day Break Upper East Show ahead of tomorrow’s event, he explained that the situation calls for serious regional introspection. Additionally, he called for massive support for the 25 women who have put themselves up for consideration.
More than 66,000 people are vying for assembly and unit committee positions in the upcoming District Level Elections (DLEs), slated for Tuesday, December 19, this year.
Statistics sourced from the Electoral Commission (EC) indicate that the contestants are made up of 18,755 assembly member candidates and 47,502 unit committee member candidates, bringing the number to 66,257 candidates.
They will be seeking election in 6,215 electoral areas across the 216 metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs).
Out of the 18,755 candidates vying to become assembly members, 6,215 will be elected to serve in the 216 MMDAs, in accordance with section 5(1)(b) of the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462).
For the unit committee members, 31,075 will be elected out of the 47,502, given that each electoral area has five unit committee members.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
