NCCE educates party activists in Ga South on 2012 elections

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) on Monday organized a seminar for political party activists in the Ga South municipality of the Greater Accra Region as part of its sensitization programme towards peaceful elections in the  December polls. The seminar was also to bring the party activists abreast with the dos and don'ts concerning the 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections. The seminar attracted party activists from Ngleshie-Amanfrom, Weija- Gbawe, Bortianor and Obuom- Domeabra constituencies, all in Ga South municiplality.   Addressing the participants, Mrs Joyce Afutu, Greater Accra Regional Director of NCCE, appealed to the activists to study the Political Parties Code of Conduct and abide by it as all political parties were signatory to it. "By signing the code, it means that the political parties are ready to adhere to processes that could ensure peaceful elections", she said. She added that signing the code meant that the parties would condemn violence of all kind, avoid intimidating opponents, avoid destroying or defacing posters and paraphernalia of opponents, avoid electoral fraud, and the use of inflammatory statements as  stated in the code", she said. She urged the participants not to allow themselves to be used by the politicians to achieve their selfish gains as they alone would be held accountable for crimes they commit. Mr Kofi Frimpong, Ga South Municipal Electoral Officer, advised the electoral officials to desist from preventing people from voting because they did not have voters' Identity cards. "With this new biometric system, it is not the person with identity card who votes, but the one whose name is found on the register and has had his or her finger prints verified by the verification machine", he said. He advised people to desist from multiple registrations as the new machine would easily detect it when someone tried to engage in multiple registration or impersonation. He said every ballot paper had a unique serial number which could not be duplicated, adding that the Electoral Commission had put in place measures which could help eliminate foreign and illegal ballot papers. Mr Frimpong advised political parties to select people who could read and write as polling agents in order to avoid misunderstanding, and to help make the work of the presiding officers easier by cooperating with them. Superintendent Shaibu Osei, Ga South Municipal Police Commander, advised political party leaders to study the Public Order Act which enjoins them to inform the police before organizing any outdoor event, and abide by it. In a communiqué issued at the end of the programme, the participants called for an end to insults during rallies, and urged the media to be circumspect in their reportage. They also called on the police to be alert and urged party agents to refrain from interfering with the electoral process.

GNA