ISD urged to correct misinformation about upcoming referendum
The Electoral Commission (EC) has raised concern about misinformation in a section of the media that the upcoming referendum slated for December 17, 2019, is going to be the election of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives in the country.
The EC explained that the election in December would be in three fold — the election of assembly members, unit committee members and ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote on Article 243(1) of the 1992 constitution to decide whether to elect MMDCEs in 2021 election.
The Bono Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, Mr Frank Nunoo who expressed the concern noted that, if the misinformation was not corrected it would have negative impact on the election.
He was speaking at a day’s training workshop for municipal and district information officers of the Information Services Department (ISD) drawn from Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions yesterday in Sunyani on the upcoming referendum.
The training centered on strategy for dissemination of messages among others.
He urged the ISD to live up to their responsibility to address the anomaly.
To ensure a successful referendum, Mr Nunoo said there must be 40 per cent turnout and 75 per cent of the people voting ‘yes’.
The Chief Director of the Bono Regional Coordinating Council, Mr Samuel Gyamfi, who represented the Bono Regional Minister, Evelyn Ama Kumi Richardson said, the referendum was a campaign pledge by the government, and that every effort must be mobilised to ensure its success, entreating ISD workers to come up with innovative ideas to sell the message to the electorate.
He urged them to collaborate with the various stakeholders such as the traditional authorities and churches to reach out to the people.
The Regional Information Officer, Imoro Ayibani Teba, on his part appealed to the various political parties and other stakeholders to co-operate with the ISD to ensure a successful referendum as they did during the creation of the new regions.
He said so far his outfit had interacted with 290 churches, 10 community information centres and some radio stations on the upcoming referendum.
FROM DANIEL DZIRASAH, SUNYANI
