By Nicholas Osei-Wusu
The Ashanti Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, Francis Osei Nsiah, says the Commission has enhanced the allowances to its temporary staff being engaged for the conduct of the December 7 Presidential and Parliamentary elections in the country.
The increased amounts, according to him, is meant for food and transportation for the officials, for which reason they have been warned against accepting any gifts from any individual, group, or organisation in relation to their duties in the polls.
The Regional Director was speaking to journalists after a capacity-building programme in Kumasi.
It was organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa for selected journalists in the Ashanti region.
It was the 3rd in a series for the media after similar events in Tamale and Ho.
It was in partnership with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom.
The training, which was to empower the participants with knowledge about the various processes and programmes of the Electoral Commission in the conduct of a Parliamentary and Presidential election, had the journalists go through topics such as Registration of Eligible Voters, Exhibition of the Provisional register, recruitment and training of Temporary Staff up until the official declaration of the results in each of the elections.
Mr. Osei Nsiah, who was also the resource person for the training, asserted that it is impossible for the Electoral Commission to manipulate the electoral process and also the results to favour any of the candidates either in the Presidential or Parliamentary polls because of the stringent regulations and processes involved.
Mr. Osei Nsiah said the official who accepted an envelope at Kwamo during the recent Parliamentary by-election did not breach any law or Electoral regulation, and that he has not been barred from applying for consideration in subsequent elections should he desire.
The Institutional Development, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager of the Media Foundation for West Africa, Daniel Ampofo Adjei, explained that the training programme was to improve on the professional competences of the participants to counter dis and mis information as the Presidential and Parliamentary elections draw closer.
Some of the participating journalists, sharing their views with GBC News about the training and how it could impact their performance, described it as timely and worthwhile.
They commended the Media Foundation for West Africa and its collaborators for the initiative and noted that it has helped to clarify some hitherto misconceptions about the EC and processes leading up to the December 7 elections.
Political parties and civil society organisations are also being given capacity training in some other aspects of the electioneering and campaigning towards free, fair, and credible polls on December 7.
