Saturday 19th October, 2019
By
Isaac Arkoh, GNA
Cape Coast, Oct. 19,
GNA – The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has said a successful
conduct of the impending Referendum and the District Level Election (DLE) is a
shared civic responsibility and advised Ghanaians to participate in it.
The government has
activated a process seeking to amend Articles 243(1) and 55(3) for election of
MMDCEs and introduction of political party participation in the local elections
were presented to Parliament to be passed.
Mr Nicholas Ofori
Boateng, Central Regional Director of the Commission who gave the advice said
it was imperative that citizens played key roles in every activity of the
Electoral Commission (EC) to enable it to discharge its constitutional mandate
effectively.
Speaking in an
interview with the media in Cape Coast on Thursday, Mr. Boateng stated that the
Electoral Commission (EC) has set December 17, this year for the referendum on
the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs)
and December 10, 2019, for the referendum.
Explaining the
requirements of the election, he said forty per cent turnout of the total
registered voters was required for the Referendum and 70 per cent “Yes Votes”
were constitutionally required to pave way for the election of MMDCEs.
Mr Boateng rallied
the support of all media practitioners to whip up the interest of the public to
turn up for the elections, while encouraging competent and qualified persons to
contest various positions.
He appealed to managers
of radio stations in the districts to offer free airtime for the NCCE to
sensitise listeners on the Referendum and the DLEs.
According to him,
the highest turnout for the previous DLEs was 35 per cent, regretting that the
attendance was far too low and urged the populace to participate in the process
to ensure success.
He said citizens’
active participation in the exercise would ensure the election of competent
leaders who would be accountable and drive sustainable development.
GNA
