Low turnout again

-In peaceful District Assembly Elections

By Selorm GBORBIDZI & Christabel Oboshie Annan, Accra

Voter apathy towards the District Assembly elections does not seem like it will go away any time soon as once again, most Ghanaian voters failed to participate fully in the just ended polls.

Visits to various polling stations by The Finder revealed low voter participation and a lack of enthusiasm.

 Also missing was the buzz and frenzied air of activity and interest in the process as there was hardly any mention of the poll in the trotros (public buses) and taxis that our reporters hopped on in their quest to gauge public sentiment.

At all the polling stations visited, there were very few people waiting to cast their ballots for their Assembly Members and preferred Unit Committee members.

Rainbow Spot Ofankor 1 & 2 polling stations

At the Rainbow Spot Ofankor 1 & 2 polling stations, only a small fraction of registered voters turned up.

By 8:39am when our team arrived, only about 21 people had voted out of the 625 registered voters, representing about 3.4% of registered voters.

At the Rainbow Spot Ofankor 1 polling station there were very few people waiting to vote when our news team got there.

At the Rainbow Spot Ofankor 2, which was on the same premises, only 10 people had voted by 8:39am, out of the expected 634 registered voters.

This represents some 1.6% of expected voters. There were however a few people waiting to be processed for voting.

The Polling Officer told our news team that there had been no issues recorded by the time of our arrival, with voting commencing at 7:00am as scheduled.

Asofa M/A polling stations 1-3

At the Asofa M/A JHS 1A polling station, about 20 people had voted by 9:19am out of the 545 registered voters on the roll.
That represents about 3.7% of eligible voters at the centre.

According to the Polling Officer in charge of the centre, there had been a slight delay to the start of voting due to a malfunctioning biometric verification device.

This situation was however resolved quickly, leading to a smooth voting process.

Asofa M/A JHS 1B polling station

At the Asofa M/A JHS 1B polling station, some 18 people had managed to vote as at 9:21am.
The total number of eligible voters on the stations roll was 544, meaning that only about 3.3% of registered voters had voted by the time our reporters left the centre.

Asofa M/A JHS 2 polling station

The situation was not different at the Asofa M/A JHS 2 polling station where only 21 of the 742 registered voters had cast their ballot at 9:15am when our reporters got to the centre.

This means only 2.8% of voters had registered by then.

The atmosphere here was also very calm, with hardly people coming along in drips to cast their vote.

The Polling Officer told our reporters that although the process had been calm, the interest from the public has been very low.

Over here too, the start of the voting was delayed by some 10 minutes due to faulty biometric devices, but this was also resolved and voting continued without further issues.

Asofa M/A JHS 3A polling station

At the Asofa M/A JHS 3A polling station, only about 15 people had managed to vote by 9:17am when our reporters spoke to the election officials.

The situation here was also very calm.

Asofa M/A JHS 3B polling station

The situation at the Asofa M/A JHS 3B polling station, where some 438 people had been registered to vote, was also very calm.

Some 22 people had successfully voted by 9:14am when our reporter spoke to the polling officials.

This represents about 5% of those eligible to vote for their Assemblymen and Unit Committee members.

Mallam East

Upon arrival at Mallam East centre, approximately five people were ready to cast their votes.   

The centre comprised two polling stations: Station A and Station B.

Four party agents were present, two each from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) respectively.

Although the Presiding Officer declined to speak to The Finder, a party agent mentioned a 15-minute delay in voting.

The voting commenced at 7:15am with only two individuals present initially. The process appeared smooth across the two polling stations.

Three individuals were contesting for the Assembly member position, while 12 candidates vied for the Unit Committee Member position.

A voter who called himself “Opanka” expressed satisfaction that the process was straight forward and swift due to the low turnout.

Mallam West

The Finder arrived at Mallam West polling station at 9:15am, where only one person was seen casting their vote, while nine Electoral Officers remained quietly seated.

Three polling stations were observed here: A, B, and C.

The Presiding Officer, Seth Anthony, mentioned that the place was prepared for voting by 7am.

By 9:15am, only six people had voted at Station B, while Stations A and C had seen visits from only four individuals each.

Mr Anthony anticipated around 280 voters to participate in voting at this centre.  

Six party agents, representing the NPP and NDC, were present.

Two contenders were vying for the Assembly Member position, and 11 individuals were contesting for the Unit Committee Member positions.

Mallam North

Upon arrival at Mallam North centres, we noticed two polling stations, A and B.  
There were two contenders for the Assembly Member position, while nine individuals contested for the unit committee position.

The Presiding Officer at the centre, Khalifa Hafiz, anticipated around 340 people to participate.  

By 10am, only 20 individuals comprising 11 males and 9 females had arrived to vote.  

Four party agents and two security personnel were observed at the centre.

A voter, Adwoa Somuah, described the process as simple and smooth due to the low turnout.

However, she encouraged others to come and vote to aid in selecting the best candidate for the Assembly Member position.

Calls for partisanship

Widespread violations of laws governing the District Level Elections (DLE), particularly the intrusion of political parties, have reignited a growing chorus advocating for a reconsideration of the non-partisan nature of the elections.

Many of the candidates are Electoral Area Coordinators and Polling Station Executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the others are National Democratic Congress (NDC) Branch and Ward Executives.

Also, concerns have been raised about the low voter turnout in District Level Elections in decades as compared to General Election.
While the national voter turnout for District Level Elections stood below 40% since 1988, voter turnout for General Election, which involved presidential and parliamentary candidates and partisan, averaged 70% since 1992.

Some experts have proposed the participation of political parties in the District Level Elections to help mobilise resources and whip up public interest.

The National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG), the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), the Coalition Of Domestic Elections Observers (CODEO), and various civil society organizations, along with political observers, are urging a national conversation on the possibility of making the DLE partisan.

Current regulations strictly forbid political parties from participating in the DLE, with Article 55(3) of the 1992 Constitution explicitly prohibiting party politics in local governance.

However, recent infractions have prompted a reevaluation of the existing system.

A planned referendum in 2019 to amend the Constitution and allow political parties to participate in local-level elections was abandoned due to a lack of consensus among stakeholders.

Supporters of the move argue that making the DLE partisan could enhance citizen interest and participation.

However, concerns have been raised about the potential deepening of political polarization if such a shift were to occur.

Election observers contend that the current non-partisan system is not functioning as intended, leading to a lack of significant benefits from the considerable resources invested in local government elections.

Persistent public apathy towards the DLE is seen as a hindrance to effective grassroots participation and inclusive development.

CeDA research on partisanship

The Center for Decentralization Advocacy (CeDA) said its research, discovered that the colour scheme of the campaign posters depicted the political parties the contestants are affiliated to. Citizens, according to the research, clearly understand this coded communication tool adopted by the candidates and their parties.

It made the claim that about 65% of the candidates are political party functionaries at the electoral area level.  

CeDA accuses NPP and NDC of playing critical roles in the DLE claiming that the major political parties actually conduct elections in the various electoral areas to select the candidates for the DLE

The Think Tank claims that Members of Parliament from both political parties provide logistical support to their favorite candidates in the form of cash, posters, street lights, rubbish bins, etc.

NALAG calls for partisanship

NALAG also reiterated its call for the election of Assembly members to be done on partisan lines, suggesting that this could increase voter turnout at the local level.

NALAG President Nana Eric Prempeh emphasized the organization’s position on the politicization of local government elections.

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) also advocates for a review of the District Assembly Elections Act to address low voter turnout.

NCCE advocates “decent partisanship”

The Director of Operations, Mr. Samuel Asare Akuamoah, proposed allowing for “decent partisanship” to boost citizens’ enthusiasm for the elections and improve local governance as a foundation for national development.

CODEO, in its 2015 report on the DLE, also called for a national conversation on the possibility of making the elections partisan.

The original intent of the district assembly elections was to identify community members committed to developing their areas and elect them based on their merit rather than party affiliation.

However, at a point, political parties infiltrated and monitised the system to abuse it and defeat the noble objectives associated with it.

It is an open secret that members of the District Assemblies have been elected on partisan lines and it appears that the nation has no solution to this blatant violation

As the debate over the nature of the DLE continues, proponents argue that formalizing a partisan system could align with the practical reality on the ground, acknowledging the existing partisan influences.

They urge political leaders to have the courage to reform relevant constitutional articles and the Local Government Act without delay to address the apparent destabilization of the Constitution.

District Assembly elections occur every four years, providing an opportunity for citizens to elect representatives to the District Assemblies.

Simultaneously, elections for Unit Committee members, which form the lowest level of Ghana’s local government structure, are held every four years as well.