The Electoral Commission of Ghana has announced an increase in media accreditation for the upcoming elections from the intial minimum of 3308 to 4500 covering the constituency and regional collation centres.
This move comes after the Commission faced backlash for its initial decision to limit media access and coverage at collation centres across the country.
Speaking during a press conference on Friday, November 29, the Chairperson of the Commission, Jean Mensa, announced that a total of 4500 accreditation cards will be handed over to the leadership of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the Ghana Independent Broadcaster Association (GIBA) for distribution by Sunday night noting that distribution of the cards will be handled solely by the GJA and GIBA.
“After discussions with the leadership of the GJA, the GIBA, we have agreed to provide 4,500 accreditation cards to the media to be able to access all 276 constituency and 16 regional collation centers. The commission has decided
in consultation with the GJA and GIBA to leave the distribution of the accreditation card solely to the GJA and GIBA. ”
The Commission clarified that its earlier memo regarding media accreditation for the upcoming elections was not intended to restrict media access, but rather to ensure minimum coverage of the collation process at all collation centres.
“The earlier memo that suggested three TV stations and five radio stations per constituency collation centre, and five TV stations and seven radio stations for each regional collation center, was therefore only to ensure minimum coverage of the collation process.
“The Commission has however agreed with the GJA and GIBA that, in spite of the space limitation at many constituency and regional collation centres, the number of accreditations will be increased from the initial suggested minimum of 3,308 to 4,500. This amounts to 1,192 more accreditations to the constituency and regional collation centres. Once again, the 4,500 accreditation cards will be delivered to GJA and GIBA by Sunday evening.”
The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to working with the media before, during and after the elections stressing the crucial role of the media at this stage of the electoral process.
Story by: Michelle Lartey
