Act for Change, a non-governmental organisation, has organised Youth Civic Engagement for first-time voters in Gameshie, Ododiodoo constituency, Greater Accra, in collaboration with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and with support from the European Union.
The engagement, held on Thursday, November 28, 2024, was on the theme ”Empowering First-Time Voters in Ga Mashie to Actively Participate in Governance”.
Representatives from the European Commission, NCCE, National Youth Leadership Parliament, Act for Change, and other organisations were present.
Lixi, Head of Governance Section, European Union Delegation to Ghana, emphasised the importance of the engagement.
According to her, the EU continues to support civil society organisations, youth organisations, and government organisations in a variety of ways to improve people’s lives.
She stated that the EU has historically supported various initiatives in agriculture, climate change, and governance to improve the rule of law.
Lixi stated that elections are extremely important tools for improving democracy and the democratic process.
‘’We have partnered with the NCCE with Act for Change, the Youth Leadership Parliament,’’ for this engagement.
She said this engagement will help the youth acquire knowledge and awareness about their rights and duties as citizens.
She argued this will also give the youth voice, ‘’and so for us in Ghana, the election is very important, and we wanted to raise the awareness of the youth in order to give the youth voice. So far, the elections in Ghana are very important, and we wanted to give our little contributions to Act for Change, which is very present in the Ga Mashie area, to organise these activities for the youth and for the women in order to understand their rights and the possibility to express their voice and express their preference during the elections.’’
She revealed that the EU is engaging with the Electoral Commission (EC), different actors, different security actors, the civil society, and CODEO in order to ensure free, fair, and credible elections.
Deputy Director in charge of Programs at the NCCE, Madam Ms. Rebecca Colecraft, said the major objective of the engagement was to educate the first-time voters on how to vote and why they needed to vote.
She also indicated that it was important because it provided young people with the opportunity to learn how to best evaluate the various promises of the candidates running for office and choose those that were consistent with our democratic aspirations and the growth of the country.
”So we are empowering the youth to understand that elections are not about violence, but about policies and the opportunity provided by the constitution for voters to exercise their rights. You therefore have a responsibility to question those who approach you in search of political power. So, according to our matters of concern report, Ghanaians wanted some issues addressed, including education, graduate unemployment and job opportunities, healthcare, roads, the economy, and living conditions.
The other issue identified was indecent language in our political space, so we are educating the youth about the importance of campaigning on issues rather than insults. We also addressed spoilt and rejected ballots. We discovered that more than 300,000 ballots were rejected during the 2020 general elections. This is disturbing because it involves money, so we advised them on how to vote without spoiling their ballots.”
Ms. Colecraft stressed that ‘’that was the main objective of the engagement, and we concluded on the need to deal with misinformation, encouraging them to look out for fake news and avoid spreading them’’.
Samuel Lamptey, Programmes Manager for Act for Change, expressed gratitude to the EU for its assistance.
He stated that the engagement was important because it helped to encourage participants to vote in the upcoming elections, which were part of their civic rights and responsibilities.
He voiced concerns over comments that convinced some individuals that they would vote in the upcoming elections, a situation he described as worrying.
He also called for peace in the upcoming elections and advised the youth not to allow politicians to influence them with money or any other gifts before voting in the elections, adding that there was a need for us to go into the elections in a peaceful environment.
According to Samuel Lamptey, another challenge identified in the NCCE report was that several first-time voters were hesitant to vote; thus, the engagement came at the right time to encourage them to vote in the elections.
‘’One of the key things the NCCE report revealed was that several first-time voters are not willing to vote. It was quite a striking finding from the NCCE. So our expectation from the workshop is that we want the participants and the youth from James Town and Gamashie as a whole to go out and vote in their numbers and also vote based on issues and not religion, tribalism, or affiliation with a group.’’
Chief Administrator of the Youth Leadership Parliament Japhet Kwaku Gyagri noted that the organisation is engaging young Ghanaians in politics through the new “YLP Digital and Innovations App,” which serves as a knowledge hub for civic rights and education.
He stated that the app has several features that allow youth to access information, a digital space for training, and brings youth closer to the digital space for interaction.
”So we upload credible information to the app so that anyone can access it. We can also submit any information on the app, which will be verified by the team to determine its credibility and authenticity. The app also allows us to take polls on national issues. The polls conducted through the app are not national elections. One unique feature of the app is that you can access or know the location of your polling station on the app, and it will direct you there so you know where to vote when you enter your voter card information. The app does not collect votes or declare results, but we can upload those certified and declared by the Electoral Commission. So, when you need the election results, you can access them through the app,” he explained.
Some of the participants commended the organisers for the engagement and requested that such engagements be held on a regular basis to help empower them.
A drama performance, group discussions, and special presentations on voting, decent campaigning, voting rights, among other topics, were treated at the engagement.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
