The Electoral Commission (E.C.) has set October 3, 2023, for this year’s District Level Election (DLE) based on its scheduled activities.
The date was disclosed by the Deputy Chairman of the E.C. in charge of Operations, Samuel Tettey, during a forum organised by the Centre for Local Governance Advocacy (CLGA) on Wednesday, June 14, 2023.
The theme for the forum was: “2023 District Level Election: The Role Of Stakeholders And Matters Arising”.
According to Mr Tettey, the date for the District Level Election (DLE) is subject to change depending on the approval of the proposed new Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) by Parliament.
Addressing the low turnout of voters during the DLE, Mr Tettey urged stakeholders to discover ways and means to improve the participation of voters in the election of Assembly and Unit Committee members.
Moreover, the Deputy Chairman of the E.C. stated that the new C.I., which was seeking to make the Ghana Card the sole document for identification for registration, was yet to be laid before Parliament.
He said when approved, the new C. I. would regulate continuous voter registration in the country.
“If this new C.I. goes through, the commission will undertake the continuous voter registration exercise at the district level,” he noted.
Aside from that, he said some internal activities of the commission, such as recruitment of staff, logistics and other election administration processes, might also be subject to a date change.
Mr Tettley has assured that candidates for the DLE are not expected to pay any filing fee as presidential and parliamentary candidates are compelled to do in the country.
In addition to that, he indicated that the E.C. would subsequently provide details of electoral processes through a series of public and voter education programmes on the DLE.
Therefore, Mr Tettey called on all respective stakeholders to assist the E.C. cordially by playing their key roles to ensure a free, fair and transparent election in the 2023 District Level Election (DLE).