EC must present credible voters' register - TUC

Accra, May 1, GNA - The Ghana Trades Union Congress has called on the Electoral Commission to come out with a credible and comprehensive voter's register as basis for free and fair elections in December. In an address to mark the national May Day parade in Accra, Mr Kofi Asamoah, the Union Acting Secretary-General asked Government to provide adequate and timely resources to the EC to enable it carry out all that was required to ensure peaceful, free and fair elections. "Flawed elections easily become the lightening rod that sets society along the path of violence, civil strife and political chaos. This is what the good people of Ghana do not want and will not accept," he said The May Day parade held on the theme: "Deepening Democracy in Ghana: The Role of Organised Labour," was heavily attended by workers from all works of life.
Mr Asamoah tasked the Electoral Commission to strive at all times to maintain and guard its independence as it bore the responsibility of winning the nation's confidence as an impartial referee and steering the country through free, fair and transparent elections. On the role of the media in ensuring a successful outcome of the elections, Mr Asamoah urged the media to provide fair and objective reportage of political news and events in the run-up to the elections to enable citizens to make informed choices. "As our recent experience and experience elsewhere have shown, vigilant, impartial and objective, media do play a very important role in assuring free and fair elections that express the will of the people," he said.
Mr. Asamoah urged the political parties to indulge in responsible campaigning and level-headedness and resist the politics of insults and personality attacks and least of all, any incitement to violence or violence.
He said it was important that the parties did not mislead citizens and create a siege mentality among their members and followers by any suggestion that the December elections were a matter of life and death. "We demand of the competing parties and their presidential candidates' serious debate over the main issues of our times, a clear vision of the future of Ghana and concrete policy alternatives that have the capacity to transform our economy and lift our people out of the quagmire of mass poverty into the middle income country where social equity and justice prevail."
On decentralization, Mr Asamoah called for far-reaching reforms of the district and municipal assemblies, especially the appointment of District Chief Executives and some members of the District Assemblies by the President, saying it was undermining the country's fledgling democracy.
"If the motive for appointing the DCEs and some assembly members by the President is to ensure that policies at the district level are consistent with national policies we recommend the appointment of technical advisers to the assemblies to help in the formulation, implementation and review of policies at the district level."
He appealed to Parliament to consider the review of the relevant sections of the Constitution to ensure that all members of the district assemblies and the DCEs were elected by the people.