The President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, has kicked against the decision by the Electoral Commission to restrict media houses' access to collation centres on December 7, 2024.

According to him, this decision will defeat efforts to ensure transparency in the elections.

Speaking during a joint press conference by GJA, GIBA, PRINPAG and NMA on November 28, 2024, he said: "The EC must give unfettered access to the media at all the levels of voting and collation of ballots. We believe restricted access to the media will not be in the best interest of transparency, accountability and access to information, which is always a major partnership essential for this election."

He added that this will also weaken the steps to trample upon misinformation and disinformation.

Ghana's Electoral Commission noted that it is restricting media access at the regional collation centers to only 12 media houses in the 2024 general elections.

In an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, Dr. Bossman Asare, the Deputy Chair of the Electoral Commission, explained that the decision to limit media access is aimed at creating a conducive environment for the collation process on December 7.

He explained that the decision was made to prevent overcrowding at the regional collation centers and assured that the Electoral Commission would inform the various media houses and observers in the coming days.

"We have the media who have also been given accreditation to observe and report on the elections. They have access to almost all the polling stations we have, however, the collation centers will be restricted. Not everyone who has access to the polling station will still have the same access as far as the collation centers are concerned and the commission will announce it to all the observers to know how it is going to pan out on election day."

Dr. Bossman Asare also mentioned that the EC has already provided media accreditation to both international observers and the press to cover the elections.

Justifying the commission's decision, he explained that party agents for each candidate contesting the presidential and parliamentary elections and EC officials overseeing the collation will be present.

He emphasised that limiting media access to 12 outlets will help maintain a manageable number of individuals, thereby preventing potential chaos.

"Apart from the media and observers at the collation center, there are going to be agents of political parties. Each of the 12 candidates will have agents at the collation center; parliamentary candidates will also have their agents there and EC officials.

"Per the wisdom of the commission, we concluded that we will restrict the numbers to create an enabling atmosphere for a smooth collation exercise, and we think that having 8 media houses at the constituency level is generally appropriate and having 12 media houses at the regional level is also very much appropriate," he stated.

This decision came under heavy criticism by stakeholders who questioned the EC's motive for the directive.

SSD

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