A total of 877 aspirants, including 65 females are contesting the upcoming District Level Elections (DLEs) in the Bono Region, Samuel Guggisberg Asirifi-Young, the Bono Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC) said on Friday.

In accordance with the District Level Elections Regulations, 2015 (C.I. 89), the Electoral Commission will conduct the District Level Elections on December 19, this year.

This follows the expiration of the term of the Assembly and Unit Committee Members on December 17.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, he said the aspirants were spread across the 322 Electoral Areas, saying voting would be conducted in 1,475 polling stations in the region.

A total of 2,123 aspirants, comprising 279 females and 2,123 males had also filed to contest the Unit Committee Elections too, he stated.

Asirifi-Young said all was set for the DLEs in the region, indicating that the Regional EC directorate would on Monday December 11 trained the various District Electoral Officers, Returning Officers and their deputies as well as key trainers for each district on electoral procedures and technicalities.

He said security was absolutely guaranteed, stressing the commission was collaborating with the police and other security services to ensure that enough security personnel were deployed to the various polling station centers to maintain law and order.

Asirifi-Young said the DLEs were not a do or die affair and advised the aspirants to remain decorous and conduct issue-based campaigns to woo the votes of the electorate.

He also entreated the eligible voters to make informed choices when they go to ballot on December 19 by ensuring they voted for competent aspirants who had capacity to represent them at the various Assemblies.

By doing so, the various development needs of the people would be captured in the short- and long-term development plans of the assemblies, and tackled accordingly, Mr Asirifi-Young stated.