The National Peace Council intends meeting the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana to discuss the possibility of including journalists in the early voting the EC organises for some agencies prior to national elections.
Prof Seth Opuni Asiamah, head of the Ashanti regional branch of the Council made this known to Accra News Thursday, December 24, 2015.
Journalists were, prior to the 2012 elections, excluded from early voting, by the EC, as the law, according to its chairman at the time – Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan – only permitted security officials and officials of the EC to be considered for such.
But Dr Asiamah told Accra News that following a meeting organised by the Ashanti, Eastern, and Brong Ahafo branches of the Council, for journalists to share their experiences and challenges in their coverage of the last general election, it emerged that a lot of media practitioners were disenfranchised, as work prevented them from finding time to vote.
He also said a number of reporters were posted to regions far from where they had been registered, hence “we have decided to speak with the EC to determine if an arrangement can be made to enable journalists to partake in the special voting in the next election and beyond”.
