General News of Sunday, 3 January 2016

Source: starrfmonline.com

I don’t listen to radio – EC boss

Charlotte Osei, Chairperson for the Electoral Commission Charlotte Osei, Chairperson for the Electoral Commission

The chairperson of Ghana’s Electoral Commission is not a fan of radio, although she is usually the subject of national discussion.

Mrs Charlotte Osei, who is the first woman boss of the electoral regulatory body in Ghana, “prefers to read” than occupy her ears with the frequent political arguments on radio, especially in the mornings.

“I don’t listen to radio,” the former head of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) told Nana Aba Anamoah on the Morning Starr.

Mrs Osei is going to be one of the busiest personalities this year as Ghana goes into its seventh elections under the Fourth Republic. It will be her major test following the retirement of her celebrated predecessor Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan.

Having that in mind, Mrs Osei has pre-conditioned herself for the task ahead, explaining that she cannot make room to monitor radio because “it’s just too much time for me.”

However, it does not mean the EC boss is not privy to what goes on in the media. She is a print fan.

“I prefer to read,” Mrs Osei stressed.

Dr Afari Gyan is also on record to have said he prefers watching cartoons than paying attention to the Ghanaian media because it helps him to de-stress.

Touching on the general elections slated for November 7, 2016, Mrs Osei wished “all Ghanaians a peaceful and purposeful 2016 polls,” reminding Ghanaians that “we have only one country – Ghana – and in everything we do we have to put Ghana first.”

The presidential poll is a straight contest between incumbent president and National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer John Dramani Mahama and opposition New Patriotic Party’s three-time presidential candidate Nana Akufo-Addo.

The duo is facing off for the second time after a close race in 2012 which saw Mahama making it to the seat of government – the Flagstaff House.