By: Fred Yaw
Sarpong
The
Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana will organize a two day capacity building
workshop for all the EC officials and Civic Educators of the National
Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) before the December 7, 2016 Presidential
and Parliamentary elections.
According
to the commission, the recent launched communication strategy document of EC will
be use as the main resource document to train the participants.
Madam
Georgina Opoku Amankwah, the Deputy Chairperson in charge of Corporate Services
announced this in Accra at the Launched of the Communications Strategy of the
Electoral Commission Ghana.
She
mentioned that the capacity building workshop is to prepare the participants
for the upcoming December 7 election and also for the task ahead of them.
Daily
Express gathered that the capacity building workshop will be organize in parts
in order to cover both the EC officials and Civic Educators of NCCE of the
northern and southern sectors.
The
communication strategy gives the EC a clear roadmap in support of the delivery
of the EC’s 5-year Strategic Plan.
The
strategy further outlines EC target audiences, it communications principles,
internal and external communications policies, the channels that will be used
for both internal and external communications, how the strategy will be
implemented and the mechanisms for evaluation and monitoring results at
predetermined intervals.
Launching
the document, the EC Chairperson, Madam Charlotte Osei stated that as the body
responsible for managing elections in Ghana, they recognized that effective
communication drives transparency, accountability and ultimately better
services and outcomes.
“Our
success in improving outcomes and the quality of the electoral services we
provide is significantly department on our ability to look outward to serve the
interests of the voting public,” the Commissioner stated.
Madam
Osei pointed out that the communication strategy is the blue print of how they
intend to effectively communicate with all internal and external stakeholders
in order to meet their core electoral mandate.
“It
comes at a time when we have purposed to redefine our relationship with our key
stakeholders and reposition the commission as a more transparent and responsive
institution which is alive to its responsibilities of delivering credible
world-class elections,” she added.
“We
are aiming to be the benchmark in Africa for the delivery of independence
trusted and world-class electoral outcomes. Effective communications is
therefore imperative to building understanding and trust among our
stakeholders,” said the EC Commissioner.
She
noted that the communication strategy therefore details exactly how the
commission will disseminate information to stakeholders on their programmes and
activities to attain the objectives of their strategic plan; the tools they
will use to get their messages across, and in turn create a two way feedback
system between the commission and the voting public.
The
US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert P. Jackson said launching the document is an
important milestone in the quest to ensure Ghana remains one of the world’s
most open democracies and that Ghanaians remain one of the world’s most engaged
electorates.
“During
the weeks ahead, the EC has an important role to play. Communicating with the
electorate is one of the most formidable and consequential challenges the EC
face. Without effective communication, voters may misconstrue noble intentions,
and become disillusioned with the democratic process,” the US Ambassador added.
The
launch of the Communication Strategy of Electoral Commission is part of the EC/
USAID’s Election Project 2016 and it was sponsored by the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID).
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