Volta Premier Fm
A day’s sensitization workshop on enhancing the participation of Women and Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in the upcoming 2019 District Assembly/Unit Committee Elections (DLE) and the Referendum has taken place in Ho, Volta Region.
The capacity building event was organized by the Volta Regional Office of the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana as part of its Public Education Strategy to ensure the dissemination of adequate knowledge on full participation of Women, PWDs, Youth (first time voters) in the upcoming District Level Elections and the Referendum on 17th December, 2019.
The participants were women, PWDs and some media practitioners in the Ho Municipality.
The Deputy Volta Regional Director of EC, Eric Dzakpasu, in his presentation, stated that women’s participation in elections has not been encouraging, therefore the need for detailed education on mandatory electoral process. He said this year’s DLE is different from that of the previous years because it includes the referendum which seeks to amend article 55(3) of the 1992 constitution which is against political parties involvement in DLE.
He stressed that Referendum is different from the elections of the MMDCEs and urged the participants to play a key role in the information dissemination to the members of their communities to increase the turnout on the day of elections.
On the problems faced by the PWDs, Mr. Dzapasu announced that PWDs, nursing mothers and pregnant women should always contact the presiding officer of the polling station for preferential treatment.
By: Eleonora Azumah
