Constitutional week participants call for expanded delegates at polling stations
Participants at a public discussion on the “Development and Contribution of Political Parties to the Growth of Ghana’s Democracy” have called on the political parties to expand the number of delegates at the polling stations.
The participants, who were part of this year’s Constitution Week Celebration in Yendi in the Northern Region, expressed the need for a detailed publication of programmes concerning election of delegates at the polling stations in future so that all qualified and interested party supporters could have access to nomination forms.
There was also consensus that election schedules indicating the venue, dates and time of elections of delegates should be made available at all polling stations to make it possible for all registered card bearing party members who had fulfilled specified obligations such as payment of dues among other things to vote the delegates.
These participants said would make the delegates legitimate representative of the people.
They called on the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to meet regularly with political party representatives and other stakeholders to discuss issues of National importance in order to minimise the feuds between the parties.
The Municipal Director of NCCE, Alhaji Alhassan Iddi Sulemana expressed his appreciation to the participants who represented the National Democratic Congress, New Patriotic Party, Convention Peoples Party, members of the Municipal Oversight Committee of the African Peer Review Mechanism, Assembly Members, Religious Leaders, Women and Youth Groups among others.
The week was on the theme: “The state of Ghana’s Democracy 2011.”
The Municipal Co-ordinating Director Alhaji Shehu Kadri who spoke on the: “Historical Overview of Local Governance in Ghana,” stated that under the 1992 Constitution, the Directive Principles of the State policy 6 (a) called for Governments to “make democracy a reality by decentralising the administration and financial machinery of government to the regions and districts and offer opportunities to the people to participate in decision making at every level in national life and in government.”
He said the election of assembly members and unit committees as representatives of the people at the local level was an important contribution to Ghana’s democracy.
Source: GNA