By Iddi Yire
Accra, June 14, GNA – Dr Eric Oduro Osae, the Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), has advised the Electoral Commission (EC) to publish the 2023 2023 District Level Election (DLE) timetable early enough to whip interest.
He said considering the low turnout experienced in the past years, many forecasters had predicted that the 2023 DLE might not receive more than 35 per cent turnout if something was not done about it.
Dr Osae made the appeal in his address at the Centre for Local Governance Advocacy (CLGA) Stakeholder Consultative Forum in Accra.
Speaking on the topic “The 2023 District Level Elections and Matters Arising”, Dr Osae said considering the importance of this election to the youth, women, persons with disability (PWDs) and the vulnerable in society, stakeholders could not sit down unconcerned.
“Can we consider making the DLE day a holiday or adding it to one of the existing holidays to signify its importance and allow people to participate?” He questioned.
“This can also be shot down by certain optics who would argue that the general election (Presidential and Parliamentary) days are not holidays, but we always have voter turnout exceeding 50 per cent so this may not be the solution.
“So, then I will be tempted to say let us bite the bullet, to amend article 55(3) and allow political parties to sponsor candidate to District and Unit Committee elections so they can join in the mobilization and drive voters to come out in their numbers and vote during such elections.”
Dr Osae, who is a Governance and Public Financial Management expert, a Chartered Accountant and a Lawyer, noted that by its non-political nature, associations and the business communities may consider sponsoring persons to champion development in respective communities in which they do business.
He said the Government must intensify sensitization and awareness raising among citizens; stating that civil society organizations (CSOs), opinion leaders and traditional authorities must take interest in preparing their people.
He said political parties must take their hands-off the local level elections and that development partners and CSOs must support Government implement the various activities aimed at promoting women’s participation in local governance including development and dissemination of guidelines to promote women into elected and appointed positions.
He urged CSOs to support the Government conduct a study on women representation in local government elections in line with affirmative action.
Dr Osae said the National House of Chief was encouraged to sensitize its members, so they don’t lead local boycotts as the nation witnessed in 2019.
He said the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) should be resourced to start its sensitization and civic education activities on the DLE early enough.
The Director-General said Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) were the ultimate beneficiaries in the activities of the Assemblymembers and the Unit Committee members must be interested by working through the district information officer to disseminate information on the upcoming elections.
He said the Government must speed up the process of reviewing relevant legal, policies and constitutional frameworks to local democracy.
He called for strategies to improve women and youth participation in the upcoming DLE since only about 8.1 per cent of candidates who participated in the 2019 elections were females.
Professional bodies should encourage their members to put themselves up for election into the respective assemblies to make their skills available to the MMDAs in dire need of their services such as layers, accountants, engineers, planners, Docters, teachers, businessmen and women.
“Our democracy is incomplete without improving turnout in local level elections.
“But we need a national conversation on whether or not to amend article 55(3) of the 1992 constitution to allow political parties to sponsor candidates to local government elections including the elections of MMDCEs in lower level.
“The decision is in our hands, collectively let us work together to make democracy a reality by helping the process.”
Dr Osae said the Government could not do it alone, CSOs, traditional authorities, associations, development partners, Governments and the bossiness must be involved in this crusade; declaring that “But there is light at the end of the tunnel”.
GNA