Give extensive coverage to District Level Elections-GJA urges media houses

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has urged media houses to give intensive and sustained publicity to the upcoming local government elections to ensure high voter turnout. The Electoral Commission (EC) has scheduled Tuesday, December 19, 2023, for the local government elections in 6,272 electoral areas in all the districts across the country, except Nkoranza North and Nkoranza South in the Bono East Region. The exercise will elect Assembly members and Unit committee members for the next four years. A statement signed and issued by Mr Kofi Yeboah, General Secretary, GJA, said the Association appreciated the importance of governance at the local level in a decentralised democracy and charged the media to give comprehensive coverage to the exercise. '…It is critical to strengthen leadership at the local level on which the building blocks of democracy are laid. 'The GJA also believes that leadership at the local level is fundamental to Ghana's development and that electing the right persons to serve i n the district assemblies and unit committees is the first step towards national development,' the Association said. The GJA encouraged media houses to offer their platforms to the candidates, electorate, the Election Management Body and other electoral actors to share their thoughts and opinions to ensure the success of the elections. 'The media must also help to educate the electorate on the importance of local governance and the need for them to get involved by going to the polls.' The GJA asked media practitioners to use the coverage of the local government elections as a test case for Election 2024 that must be passed with excellence. Source: Ghana News Agency