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EC officers sharpen skills ahead of 2008 elections
Ho, Oct 8, Ghanadot/GNA- All 200 Election Officers of the
Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC), are undergoing a series
of training to sharpen their skills in election
administration ahead of the 2008 presidential and
parliamentary elections.
The African Association of Electoral Authorities (AAEA)
designed the course modules, which is divided into basic,
intermediate and advance levels.
Dr Kwadwo Afari-Djan, EC Chairman, who opened the first
two-week basic level course for 31 officers in Ho on Monday,
said the programme would raise their competence
professionally and ethically.
He said the course was expected to grill the officers on
election management, to raise the credibility of the
processes.
Dr Afari-Djan said all elections are important and must be
approached with the same commitment to do the right thing.
He said the approach of Election Officers should not be to
satisfy the concerns of the political parties alone but
crave also to live up to the expectation of the general
public.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is funding
the training sessions under its support for governance
programme.
Mr Eric Opoku, UNDP Governance Officer in Ghana, observed
that conflicts in Africa and the rest of the world had often
been caused by suspicions during elections and successions.
He however commended the EC for managing over the years to
build a "strong image as an independent and autonomous
institution".
Mr Opoku said the challenge to the EC now was to consolidate
this "positive image of neutrality and independence and
actually being impartial to all parties and the populace,
despite its dependence on the central government for
funding".
He said the election officers should be mindful of the
images of conflicts that have resulted from poor conduct of
elections to appreciate the need to ensure that elections
were transparent.
Mr Opoku said it was important for elections authorities to
win the trust of all competing parties and relevant
stakeholders in order to make its elections results
credible, legitimate and acceptable to both winners and
losers.
Nana Amba Eyiaba I, a member of the Commission who presided
said elections officers must be prepared to raise their
knowledge to be abreast with the fast changing trends in
elections management.
Participants have been randomly picked to attend the courses
in different batches in Ho for the Southern Zone, Kumasi,
Central and either Sunyani or Tamale for the Northern
sector.
The course content includes concept of free and fair
elections, profile of a Good Election Officer, Election
Language and the electoral process from registration to
results collation.
GNA
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