Dec. Polls: Present accurate figures, facts – EC to Journalists

Chairperson of Electoral Commission Jean Mensa has charged the media to report truthful facts and figures of outcomes of the 2020 polls to minimise unnecessary political tensions.

According to Ms Mensa, her office will frequently engage citizens in a transparent manner via the media to enable citizens to observe and monitor the electoral process to reduce political tensions and anxiety.

Speaking at a workshop on election reporting organised by the election management body in collaboration with the Ghana Journalists Association in Accra on Tuesday, 24 November 2020, Ms Mensa said: “The media should scale up the rate at which it reports fairly and allow adequate space for the EC to air its views on emerging issues”.

“All we need is for the media to provide fair and objective coverage, present facts and figures to citizens, be truthful and fair in your reportage. Let us choose the path of peace because the world is watching Ghana,” she said.

Ms Mensa also expressed the EC’s commitment to ensure transparency and accountability in the conduct of the electoral process.

“We’re training persons with disabilities, journalists across the country, let the citizens know press briefings, provision of gender statistics of voters and prompt response to emerging issues. These show our transparency and our drive to demonstrate commitment,” she stated.

The EC boss also expressed confidence that the designed IT system for conducting the 2020 election is robust.
According to her, political parties are involved in the monitoring of the printing process to clear any doubt in the minds of the 12 contending parties.

She also revealed that the EC has not been able to register Ghanaians living abroad due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Ghana’s Apex Court ordered the EC to implement the Representation of People’s Amendment Law after private citizens dragged electoral management body to the Supreme Court over the matter. But, according to Ms Mensa, registration of Ghanaians outside the shores of Ghana can be done in future but not for the 2020 polls.
For his part, the President of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) Affail Monney charged the media to scale up accurate reportage and eschew fake news in the build-up to 2020 polls.