NCCE campaigns to whip up public interest in 2016 polls
The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has rolled out quarterly strategies aimed at engaging the electorate and political parties ahead of the general election in November.
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Key among the strategies is a focus group discussion to identify matters of concern to voters.
The NCCE will also engage with presidential aspirants on election matters, including a dialogue on the supremacy of the Constitution, as well as discussions on how to stamp out the culture of intolerance and enhance respect for all electoral regulations.
These plans were outlined by a Deputy NCCE Commissioner, Mr Samuel Akuamoah, during a press briefing on Wednesday.
He said the commission would also form Inter-Party Dialogue Committees (IPDCs) to promote healthy political activities at the constituency level through constant dialogue and engagement with key stakeholders.
There would also be collaborative engagements at flash points for electoral conflicts in a bid to encourage peace before, during and after the general election.
He stated that the NCCE was well resourced to carry out those campaigns.
Mr Akuamoah said “those of you who perceive [NCCE] to be a poverty-stricken organisation are living in the past. We are not that poor”.
He added that Ghana’s development partners, such as the European Union, had pledged to fund NCCE activities.
“We also have a budget with the government which we are also going to plough to support whatever we do,” he said.
He said the commission had, over the years, been thought of as not being inadequately resourced by successive governments.
He said that development had been blamed for the often poor education on key national policies and events, including elections.
For instance, the overwhelming number of spoilt ballots during the 2012 elections was attributed to the lack of education on voting processes.
Civil society groups argued that the situation would have been different if the NCCE were well resourced to render effective education to the populace.
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