NCCE sensitises 50,320 residents in UWR on district assembly election

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in the Upper West Region has sensitised 50,320 residents on the district assembly and unit committee elections scheduled for December 17, 2019.

The figure, which comprised 23,579 males and 26,741 females in all 11 municipal and district assemblies across the region, was achieved through community meetings, engagement at the market squares, women group meetings, engagement during religious gathering and radio programmes.

Wa Municipality recorded the highest patronage of 10,270 people at 46 separate sensitisation programmes held in the area.

The main objective of the sensitisation was to get the people to turn out in their numbers to vote during the elections, as part of exercising their democratic rights as Ghanaians and as mandated by the electoral laws of Ghana.

The Regional Director of the NCCE, Ms Patience Sally Kumah, announced this during a media briefing at Wa on Tuesday, to outline the various activities they had carried out to encourage electorates to turn out to vote, particularly women in the region.

She said the messages focused on explaining to the voters the compositions and structures of the district assemblies and unit committees, and how they were elected into office.

Ms Kumah said they also educated the citizens on the duties of assembly members and unit committee members, and why registered voters should turn out in their numbers to vote massively during the elections.

“Our aim is to avert the low turn outs that have characterised the DLEs since its inception in the country with particular emphasis on the low turnout of women who do not appear interested in such processes,” she said.

Ms Kumah said her outfit also used the opportunity to educate its audience on election offenses and sanctions, and how persons with disability could receive assistance at the polls, if they turned out to vote on the day of the election.

She said whereas the district offices of the Commission were actively involved with the sensitization programmes, the regional office embarked on effective monitoring to ensure that the awareness programmes were carried out and the right messages were also churned out to the voters.

FROM LYDIA DARLINGTON FORDJOUR, WA