The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has called on the media to give intensive and sustained publicity to the upcoming district Assembly election to ensure high voter turnout.
A press release signed by the General Secretary, Kofi Yaboah on December 12, 2023, stated that “it is critical to strengthen leadership at the local level on which the building blocks of democracy are laid.”
“Given the critical role of the media as development agents, the media fraternity must rally the people for high patronage in the upcoming local government elections.” the GJA said.
The GJA therefore urged media houses to offer their platforms to the candidates, electorate, election management body and other electoral actors to share their thoughts and opinions in a manner that would ensure the success of the elections.
“The media must also help to educate the electorate on the importance of local governance and the need for them to get involved by going to the polls. The GJA particularly urges the media to exhibit high professional standards in the electioneering, and use the coverage of the local government elections as a test case for Election 2024 that must be passed with excellence,” it added.
The Electoral Commission (EC) has scheduled Tuesday, December 19, 2023, for the local government elections in 6,272 electoral areas in all the districts across the country, except Nkoranza North and Nkoranza South in the Bono East Region, for the election of assembly members and unit committee members for the next four years.