EC would engage competent officers for the election

Mrs Faith Amedzake, the Eastern Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC) says the Commission is bent over engaging competent people as election officers to prevent the irregularities associated with the 2012 election.

She said the EC was armed with the experiences in 2012 and was therefore not taking anything to chance, to ensure credible fair and peaceful elections for the outcome to be acceptable to all parties.

According to her, all those who had been engaged as returning and presiding officers would be taken through in-depth training on how to enter data or other requirements on the pink sheet to ensure that the proper thing was done

She was speaking on the key elements of electoral reporting at a “GNA Tracks Election 2016 project” workshop in Koforidua, being sponsored by Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL), the nation’s foremost indigenous oil marketing company.

The Regional Director indicated that a replica of the pink sheet had been printed to be used in training the successful applicants engaged for the elections, adding “all this is being done to ensure an acceptable election outcome”.

Reporters and Stringers from the Southern belt including the Eastern, Western, Central, Volta and the Greater Accra regions are attending the workshop and would be taken through the dos and don’ts of election reporting.

The first one was organised in Sunyani for the Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Brong- Ahafo and Ashanti regions from November 1- November 3.

Mrs Amedzake noted that the media was a stakeholder in conducting the elections and therefore appealed to them to partner the EC in educating the public on the rules of the election games and churn out accurate and credible information to the public.

The GNA tracks Election 2016 project being funded by Goil, is to build the capacity of its reporters and stringers across the country, to report accurately and effectively on the coming general election.

The focus is on ethics and responsibilities of a News Agency reporter and electoral reporting key elements of CI94.

Under the project, the electorate would be sensitised on the various issues being raised by the political parties as captured in the various manifestoes to enable them become informed choices as to who to elect.

Source: GNA