Josephine Nkrumah
THE NATIONAL Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in collaboration with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) will hold three presidential debates for all presidential candidates of the upcoming December elections.
The debate, which formed part of activities outlined by the NCCE for the elections, is scheduled to take place in the Northern, Middle and Southern zones in September, October and November, respectively.
September will also witness the start of the parliamentary candidates’ debate in all 275 constituencies.
Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday in Accra, chairperson of the commission, Josephine Nkrumah, said the series of activities were aimed at providing the needed platforms for dialogue and public sensitization towards the conduct of peaceful and successful elections.
Under a theme, “The Future of Ghana is in My Hands,” the activities, she said, also sought to appeal to the conscience of citizens to prioritise the interest of the country in all their endeavours during the period.
She also appealed to all stakeholders to lend the needed support to the commission to execute its mandate of educating citizens on their civic duties especially during the election period which she said was needed to sustain the growth of the country.
“We ask the media for their support. Sometimes, when we go to some of the media houses, we are required to pay money. However, when it comes to election years, we actually have the media calling on us to support their programmes. We look forward to that collaboration in 2020,” she said.
Programmes Officer of the NCCE, Dr Imran Mohammed, mentioned that other activities planned included public education on discipline within an electioneering period, multi-stakeholder engagements on election and good governance as well as meetings and capacity building programmes for members of Inter-Party Dialogue Committee (IPDC).
He also indicated that there would be education on political party vigilantism, research and report launch on voters concern, stakeholders meetings on conflict management, as well as the identification and engagement of election hot spots in constituencies.
Dr Mohammed furthermore said there would be other civic educational activities that were not directly related to the elections including programmes on environmental governance, child protection and anti-corruption.
By Issah Mohammed