The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has raised concerns over the growing trend of voter apathy which had been evident in past elections.
According to the Commission, its study has revealed the worrying trend which needs to be tackled.
Some elections held recently including the local level elections have been characterised by low voter turnout.
Most voters fault unfulfilled political promises for their decisions not to take part in elections.
But speaking at a press conference to outline the Commission’s action plan for the 2020 election year, the Chairperson of the Commission, Ms Josephine Nkrumah said her outfit would embark on massive public education ahead of the 2020 polls.
“We have realised that there seems to be a growing apathy or vote fatigue during elections and as a Commission, we must seek to correct that. We must seek to approach that and ensure that Ghanaians continue to be active participants in the governance of our country.”
“For that matter, in the last quarter of 2019, we sought to reactivate our inter-party dialogue committee and we are happy to announce that as at December 2019, we activated our regional inter-party dialogue committees.
We would also have consultative meetings with political parties and other stakeholders. We would amplify our education and engagement in our flashpoint areas and we would engage the youth,” she assured.
The NCCE, ahead of the upcoming elections, has called on Ghanaians to maintain the spirit of tolerance, national unity, peace, cohesion, and patriotism as principles for national development.
A statement signed by NCCE’s Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs, Joyce Afutu recently admonished the youth to avoid being used as vigilantes and tools of violence by some politicians.
The statement said, “As Ghana goes into the general election this year, the NCCE is appealing to Ghanaians to uphold the spirit of tolerance, national unity, peace, cohesion, and patriotism as guiding values for national development.”
“We urge the youth, particularly political party activists, not to be misguided by some politicians and be used as vigilantes and instruments of violence. Rather, the youth should eschew acts of violence before, during, and after the upcoming elections as their contribution to peaceful elections and nation-building,” it added.
– citifmonline.com
Pix –Ms. Josephine Nkrumah
