The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has proposed to the Electoral Commission (EC) to adopt a system that will electronically transmit election results directly from the polling stations to its website in the 2024 elections.
Rev Dr Fred Deegbe, a representative of the Centre, said such a system would help to check the irregularities associated with the collation, transmission, and announcement of election results to safeguard the integrity of the election and regain public trust in it as citizens monitor the process in real time.
This is because, he indicated misinformation and disinformation, rise in the malicious use of social media, and other pervasive uses of digital technologies remained a threat to the upcoming elections which required a multi-faceted approach to combat it .
He observed that the enhancement of media and information literacy was one of the effective strategies to tame it.
Rev Dr Deegbe made the remarks at the 10th anniversary public lecture of the Political Science Education Department of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) held on the theme: “Towards a peaceful 2024 election in Ghana, collaborations among stakeholders in the context of emerging technologies.”
“Regaining trust is a process and so, the EC should start building it by updating its website to facilitate the transmission of results directly from polling stations to regional centres, and then to the national level.
The website, he suggested, should provide detailed vote counts for both parliamentary and presidential candidates, with frequent updates whenever there were changes.
Rev Dr Deegbe entreated the EC and all stakeholders in the election to leverage technology to educate voters, enhance cybersecurity measures, and combat misinformation.
He also urged Civil Society Organisations to continue employing data analytics to ensure accuracy and transparency, while the country works to introduce an electronic voting system in future.
Rev Dr Deegbe further admonished citizens to stand firm and reject attempts by politicians to buy their votes in the upcoming general election but vote wisely devoid of any influence to elect the right leaders to enable them to exact accountability.
“A vote is your will, choice and conscience, taking money means you are selling your conscience and ability to hold leadership accountable,” he said.
He warned against the dire consequences of monetising elections and its processes on development, underscoring the role of citizens in ensuring fair, accurate and transparent elections towards national development.
He urged stakeholders to educate the public on the negative effects of vote buying on democratic governance of the country.
He urged all citizens to collectively ensure that Ghana remained a beacon of hope of Africa, after the 2024 elections.
SOURCE: GNA
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