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Four political parties have called for new mechanisms to address the low voter turnout associated with the district-level and unit committee elections.

The parties — the Progressives People’s Party (PPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC), Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) explained that until a new approach was developed, the issue of low voter turnout at district-level elections would continue.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic in separate interviews, the four parties expressed disappointment in the turnout despite the massive publicity it received because of the aborted referendum.

Whereas the PPP and CPP called for special education to sensitise the public to the essence and significance of voting in district-level elections, the PNC advocated a reduction in the number of polling stations.

The LPG, on the other hand, is convinced that without allowing political parties to participate in district-level elections, there would not be enough motivation for people to go out in their numbers to vote.

Background

On Tuesday, December 17 this year, Ghanaians were given the opportunity to vote for their district and unit committee members.

Although the elections passed smoothly, except a few hiccups, including some communities boycotting the national exercise in protest against the bad roads in their areas, the election encountered low voter turnout.

Rounds by the Daily Graphic during the exercise revealed apparent apathy and low turnout. The usual long queues and eagerness to vote which characterise general elections were absent at polling centres.

Whereas some voters trickled in to cast their ballots, others decided to stay away completely from the national exercise.

PPP disappointed

The Communication Director of the PPP, Mr Paa Kow Ackon, attributed the low voter turnout to a number of issues, including apathy on the part of voters and the EC’s inability to intensify its education on district-level elections.

On apathy, he said the low turnout could be because Ghanaians in general were unhappy with the country’s economy, adding that if people “are thinking of bread and butter, nobody will have the time to queue up to vote at district elections”.

“Another reason could be that people are fed up with the entire electoral process,” Mr Ackon added.

He was, however, convinced that had the election run along with the aborted referendum, people could have taken it seriously.

PNC’s concern

The Chairman of the PNC, Mr Bernard Mornah, mentioned that the low voter turnout mostly happened in the urban areas when compared to what occurred in the rural towns.

In the urban areas, he said most people “are busy going about their businesses that nobody is willing to skip any activity to vote for people they may not even know, whereas in the rural areas the people generally know the members contesting”.

Another reason Mr Mornah cited was that since the day for the district-level election “is not a holiday, most of the voters find it extremely difficult to travel to their polling stations to vote”.

He, however, congratulated the contestants, indicating that their participation had enhanced local democracy whether they won or not.

CPP on institutions

The acting Chairman of the CPP, Hajia Hamdatu Ibrahim, stressed the need for institutions mandated to educate voters on elections to pay particular attention to educating people more about the essence and significance of district assembly elections.

“If people will wake up at 2 a.m. to go and queue to vote for the President and Member of Parliament (MP), then it means they do not attach the same significance to district-level elections,” she said.

On the party’s general view of the elections, Hajia Hamdatu said apart from few hiccups in some areas, the CPP was happy about the organisation and applauded the police for maintaining law and order at the polling centres.

She also commended the electorate who turned out to vote and urged the winners to use the platform given them to help build their communities.

LPG on participation

The Founder and Leader of the LPG, Mr Kofi Akpaloo, said in order to address the low voter turnout, political parties must be allowed to participate.

“If parties are allowed to participate, they will whip up interest and people will be more motivated to vote because their parties are contesting,” he said.

Mr Akpaloo said people generally “do not find district and unit committee elections competitive enough to leave their work to go and vote, and that can be changed easily by allowing parties to join the local-level elections”.

“I did not participate in the election because I didn’t know any of the aspirants and I had no candidate to campaign for,” he added.