Promote free and fair elections - Dr Osae urges stakeholders
The Dean of Graduate Studies and Research of the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS), Dr Eric Oduro Osae, has advised people in academia to join hands with political stakeholders to promote a free and fair election.
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He said the academia, through research and objective analysis, could assist political parties to resolve inter and intra party conflicts.
“A partnership between academia and politicians in government is one of the best ways of promoting sustainable development through evidence-based policy formulation and implementation for the benefit of Ghanaians”, he said at the 6th matriculation ceremony of the ILGS in Accra last Friday.
Speaking on the theme: “Promoting peaceful and credible multi-party elections in Ghana: The role of academia”, he said the attitude of the winner and losers were key to a peaceful election.
He, therefore, urged academia to join other stakeholders to manage these attitudes and reactions after the elections.
“Winners must be slow in celebrating and losers must nurse their wounds with caution”, he said.
Dr Oduro Osae said it was difficult for the government to draft policies without advisors such as experts in academia.
Citing the 2015 Nigerian elections, he said, academia in Nigeria took part in the electoral process by supporting with the checking of figures and educating the electorate on their rights and responsibilities on the day of election, adding that academia in Ghana could also do the same.
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Low Enrolment of Women
For his part, the acting Director of ILGS, Dr Abdulai Darimani, expressed worry over the drop in enrolment and the persistent low enrolment of females in the master’s programme of the institute, adding that out of the 78 students who were matriculating, only 15 were women.
He, however, said the management would engage in research to find out the cause.
Speaking on the December 7 elections, he stated that research and human resource development strategies of academic institutions should constantly be sought to ensure peaceful elections.
History of ILGS
The Institute of Local Government Studies was established in 1999 as a project of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development with support from the World Bank and the Royal Netherlands Government.
The institute exists to initiate, coordinate and provide demand-driven local governance studies, education, training and research.
Its vision is to be a centre of excellence for education, training, research, advisory, consultancy and information management services responding to the demands of modern local governance.