The Electoral Commission (EC) has justified its decision to limit media personnel and observers’ access to collation centres during the 2024 general election, citing the need to ensure a secure and efficient collation process.
As part of its guidelines for the elections, the EC has directed its regional directors that only eight media houses be permitted at each collation centre within the constituencies.
At the Regional collation centres, the EC has decided to allow only 12 media houses. The 12 media houses would be made up of Five TV stations and Seven Radio stations.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Tuesday, November 26, Dr Eric Bossman Asare, Deputy Commissioner of the EC, explained that the measure aims to facilitate a smooth collation process at both the constituency and regional levels.
“We arrived at our conclusion based on our history and the nature of the coalition centres. If you are not very careful and you don’t manage the centres very well, you may end up having a lot of challenges to deal with.
“So, the commission believes that this particular arrangement will create a very smooth coalition exercise at the constituency and the regional level.
“We are not only reducing numbers for the media, it is something which cuts across. We are making the point that with the 8 media houses, let us take a constituency like Banda, Hohoe, or Bantama and you have eight media houses, we think they should be enough to be able to send the information,” he stated.
#GhanaPolls2024
#ElectionBureau
#CitiVerify