Mr David Adeenze-Kangah, Deputy Commissioner of the Electoral Commission in charge of Finance and
Administration, has stated that the country's democratic practice can only be enhanced and consolidated if Ghanaians actively participate in
nurturing democracy at the local level.
"As a country, if we do not learn to practice democracy at the local level it will be impossible to do so at the national level", he said.
Mr Kangah was speaking at a one-day workshop organised in Tamale for district officers of the Electoral Commission (EC), the
National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and District Information Officers (DIOs) to educate them on the need to intensify publicity on the upcoming district level elections.
The workshop which was a collaboration between the EC and KAB Governance Consult, had as its theme: "Harnessing the Resources of the EC/NCCE and ISD for improved citizen participation
in the 2010 district level elections".
Mr. Kangah bemoaned the current trend in which democracy was perceived by some people as the ability to make "noise" or give uninformed analysis of almost every subject on the airwaves.
He said if democracy was effectively nurtured at the local level, the trend would give way to discussions on more important national
and developmental issues.
The Deputy Electoral Commissioner briefed the workshop participants on some of the legal changes in the electoral law regarding
the district level elections, saying that Unit Committees would now be made up of only five members who are to be duly elected.
On the issue of mounting platforms, he said the law had been amended and organisations which were non-partisan could now assist the EC to mount platforms for the candidates to spread their messages to the electorate.
He said the challenges facing the EC were how to ensure that the district level elections remained non-partisan and how to reach out to the people, especially the physically challenged.
Mr. Sylvester Kanyi, Northern Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, said although Ghana had been praised for successfully
organizing a number of elections peacefully, no country had ever had a perfect electoral system and as such the EC would continue to take measures to improve upon its performance.