The Electoral Commission (EC) has called on people to vote for persons they feel are capable of championing their cause.
It has, therefore, appealed to chiefs and opinion leaders to desist from recommending candidates for the people in their electoral areas.
Some chiefs and opinion leaders in some traditional areas in the Upper West Region dictate the candidate for their respective district assemblies on behalf of the people.
According to the EC, they do this by pointing out a particular person who they feel can champion the cause of the people during the forthcoming district-level elections ((DLE).
The Upper West Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mr Serebour Quarcoe, who disclosed this during a days workshop in Wa last Tuesday, however said the EC did not encourage such arrangements.
He called on the people to vote for persons they felt were most capable of championing their cause and not those recommended by the chiefs and opinion leaders in their electoral areas.
It has been observed that some chiefs and opinion leaders in some part of the region bring their weight to bear on who should go to the assembly on behalf of the people, Mr Quarcoe said.
District assembly members are elected and not selected, Mr Quarcoe stressed.
According to him, that was not a good practice and should not be encouraged.
You know who can talk and work on your behalf and so should insist on voting for such people, he said.
Mr Quarcoe, therefore, advised the electorate to insist on voting for capable people to the district assemblies to ensure that their hopes and aspirations were met.
He reminded the candidates that they were not to be supported by any political party. He gave the period for the introduction of candidates and mounting of platforms as August 20-29, this year.
He announced that with the DLE scheduled for Tuesday, September 1, it was too late for anybody to transfer his/her vote.
This was supposed to have been done 42 days before the election date, he said.
The regional director further stated that there would be no special voting during the DLE this time round and warned that the security agencies would be around to ensure the elections were not disrupted in any way.
Mr Daniel Amanyo, a Deputy Director in charge of elections, called for peace and orderly behaviour at all election centres and assured the people that the EC was ready to conduct elections without any hitches.
He said the objectives of the interaction were to safeguard and improve their knowledge on the electoral process, electoral laws, code of conduct and sensitise them to play watchdog roles at the various polling stations.
Source: Daily Graphic
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