By Morkporkpor Anku
Accra, Dec. 9, GNA- The Media Coalition has called on the Electoral Commission to disclose the list of media houses granted accreditation to cover proceedings at the National Collation Centre in the interest of transparency.
Mr Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, President of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), said the EC must also disclose the methodology used to select media houses to cover proceedings at the National Collation Centre.
Mr Dwumfour was speaking at a press conference organised by the Media Coalition to address critical issues about the Electoral Commission’s decision to grant accreditation to selected media houses to cover the proceedings at the National Collation Centre.
The Coalition is comprised the GJA, Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association, Private Newspaper and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana and New Media Association of Ghana.
He said in a statement issued by the Media Coalition that they called on the Commission to rescind its decision to give accreditation to selected media houses to cover proceedings at the National Collation Centre.
He said the EC did not consult the Media Coalition Ghana, either collectively or individually, in arriving at its decision.
“We had expressed concern that the decision of the EC will gravely affect the integrity of the elections due to the absence of a fair and transparent methodology of selecting media houses for covering proceedings at the National Collation Centre,” he said.
The GJA President said they had also expressed concern that the decision of the EC might fuel the phenomena of misinformation and disinformation.
“Unfortunately, the EC did not heed our call and has gone ahead to implement its selective agenda,” he added.
Mr Dwumfour said in as much as they had admonished their members to be professional in the discharge of their duties and tirelessly advised them to refrain from misinformation and disinformation, “we fear the decision taken by the EC may dissipate our efforts and gains, as it may stoke the fire of those undesirable phenomena.”
He said the Coalition remained committed to the promotion of successful elections but never to the promotion of distressful actions that might divert the course to that end.
He said the GJA had deployed election volunteers in all the 276 constituencies across the country to collect and collate results of the December 7 elections.
Mr Dwumfour said they were setting up a platform to project provisional and certified results of the elections on giant monitors mounted at the Press Centre for the benefit of the media, political actors and the public.
The GJA has also set up a seven-member Election Monitoring Team to compile a comprehensive report on the outcome of the elections.
The GJA President said the Association received 9,009 media accreditation tags from the Commission, including reprinted tags, as of Thursday, December 5, 2024, for distribution to media practitioners covering the elections.
He said the number included 100 foreign journalists, urging media practitioners to endeavour to promote peace in all aspects of their work during the electioneering.
He advised media practitioners to put the interest of the nation first in all circumstances as they covered the elections.
He commended the KGL Group for sponsoring the establishment of the GJA- KGL Foundation Media Collation Centre, which would go a long way to deepen Ghana’s democracy.
Mr Alex Dadey, Executive Chairman of KGL Group said, “we believe that the Centre stands as a testament to media’s collective strength and responsibility in safeguarding our democracy.”
He said the Foundation would continue to champion its purpose to ensure that every Ghanaian had the opportunity to be the architect of his or her own dreams.
“Let’s all media practitioners, corporate organisations and civil societies commit to creating a landscape where peace and credible journalism are not just ideals but daily realities,” he added.
GNA