The Electoral Commission (EC) has addressed growing concerns from media partners following a directive that restricts media access to collation centres for the December 7 elections.
The EC, in a memo, instructed its regional directors to limit media and observer access to collation centres, emphasizing the need for a secure and efficient collation process.
Under the new guidelines, only eight media organisations would be accredited to cover collation activities at constituency centres.
This allocation includes three television stations with two personnel each and five radio stations with one representative each.
For regional collation centres, access would be granted to 12 media outlets, comprising five television stations with two personnel per station and seven radio stations with one representative each.
This directive, while intended to ensure orderliness, has sparked significant feedback from various media stakeholders.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, November 27, the deputy EC in charge of operations, Samuel Tettey, noted that the EC is engaging with the leadership of the Ghana Journalists Association and Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) to address the concerns.
He assured stakeholders of the commission’s commitment to reaching a workable and acceptable arrangement that balances transparency with order at the collation centres.
“As a listening Commission, we are engaging with the leadership of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) on the issue and trust that we will arrive at an arrangement that is both workable and acceptable.
“The Commission is keen on ensuring the highest level of transparency in its operations, hence the opening up of all its Constituency, Regional and National Collation Centres to the Media.
“In doing so, the Commission is mindful of the need to ensure an orderly and peaceful process at all the Collation Centres hence the quotas on the number of persons who can access the Collation Centres at any given time.”
Read the EC’s full statement below.
