Election 2024: EC Under Fire For Decision To Restrict Media Coverage At Regional Collation Centres
- The Electoral Commission plans to limit media coverage of collation centres during the 2024 general election
- The commission has set a limit of 12 media houses at the regional collation centres and eight at each constituency collation centre
- The Electoral Commission has said it wants to ensure a secure and efficient collation process
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The Electoral Commission plans to limit media and observer access to collation centres during the 2024 general election.
The commission believes this will ensure a secure and efficient collation process.
Source: Facebook
However, this move has faced pushback from some journalists who have accused the commission of acting arbitrarily.
The Media Foundation for West Africa called on the Electoral Commission to reconsider and reverse its decision to limit media access to collation centres during the 2024 elections.
According to an internal memo carried by Citi News, the Electoral Commission has instructed its regional directors to ensure limited access.
Per the memo, only eight media houses will be allowed at each constituency collation centre.
The commission has set a limit of 12 media houses at the regional collation centres, consisting of five TV stations and seven radio stations.
Dr Eric Bossman Asare, a deputy commissioner at the commission, further explained that the restrictions are intended to streamline the collation process.
“We arrived at our conclusion based on our history and the nature of the collation centres. If you are not very careful and you don’t manage the centres very well, you may end up having a lot of challenges to deal with."
The commission hopes to announce the election results within 72 hours after polls close on December 7.
The commission has also committed to ensuring that results are released on time and that the electoral processes are accurate and transparent to avoid unnecessary suspicions.
Transportation of ballots and and election preparations
YEN.com.gh previously reported that The Electoral Commission has begun transporting ballot papers in readiness for the December 7 general elections.
In its communique, the commission noted the ballot materials were dispatched to each region under tight security to arrest any potential malpractice.
This phase follows the Electoral Commission’s month-long preparation efforts to wrap up voter registration, assign polling stations, and train election officers, among other engagements.
Breakdown of voters for 2024 election
YEN.com.gh also reported that the Electoral Commission announced that a total of 18,774,159 Ghanaians are eligible to vote in the December election.
The commission released a summary of the 2024 certified voter register released on November 11, 2024.
The voters register saw an increase of 1,746,518 voters in comparison to the 2020 register, which had 17,027,641 voters.
Proofread by Samuel Gitonga, Copy Editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh
