EC urges the media to assist in voter education
Mr. George Gyabaah, the Brong-Ahafo Regional Director of Electoral Commission (EC), has urged the media to contribute to efforts at maintaining and promoting peace in the country, by doing away with issues that had implications to inflame passions in their reportage.
He has also called on the media assist in electorate voter education due to its role to both ensure the success of the on-coming general elections and to enable the electorate to make informed choices.
Mr. Gyabaah gave the advice at a day’s capacity building workshop at Abesim near Sunyani for Media practitioners in the Region to equip them with the needed knowledge for a better understanding about the process of limited voters registration exercise and the coverage of the Election 2016.
“Imbalance and inaccurate reportage by the media could cause conflicts to disrupt the prevailing peace in the country”, he added.
Mr. Gyabaah entreated the participants and their Media houses to base their education on facts but not fabrication, sensational reporting, distortions and exaggeration of facts, to cause violence in the country.
The workshop, organized by the EC and supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was under the theme, “Building Capacity for Media Practitioners in Election Reportage and Highlights of Constitutional Instrument 91 (C.I. 91)”
Outlining the importance of the exhibition of the voters’ register scheduled from April 28 to May 8 this year, he said the exercise was essential in the electoral process because it offered all registered voters the opportunity to check their names and particulars whiles also ensuring either the removal or correction of the names of the dead, minors and voters who had registered double.
Mr. Gyabaah added that the exercise would also allow those who have now attained age 18 and those who are above that age but could not register during the last registration exercise, to register.
The EC Commissioner responsible for Brong-Ahafo, Mr. Ebenezer Aggrey Fynn, called for effective collaboration between the Media and the EC to avoid announcement of inaccurate voting figures as a result of hurried declaration of election results by some media houses.
Source: GNA