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The Minister for Local Government Decentralization and Rural Development, Dan Kwaku Botwe, has stated that all is set for the district-level elections slated for Tuesday, December 19, 2023.
He noted that the necessary preparations were at an advanced stage to ensure a successful organization of the polls.
Speaking ahead of the nationwide exercise, the Minister said courtesy of structures and arrangements put in place by the Electoral Commission coupled with their support, the exercise awaits the d-day across all Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies.
“Yes, everything is placed in its right direction and then all is set for the exercise so as per the constitution, it is the Electoral Commission that lays down modalities of the elections.
” I led a team of my sector [Ministry] to a meeting with the EC about a week ago and they briefed us on the advancement of their preparations,” Dan Botwe said on the morning show on Angel FM/TV Monday, December 18, 2023.
According to him, “Right from opening and closing of nominations, balloting, platform creation for all aspirants of the various positions to present their manifestoes at all the electoral areas and printing of ballot papers and whatsoever is demanded of them, is already a foregone conclusion.”
He added, “The EC also informed us that it has engaged all the security agencies for the exercise for which they have expressed their preparedness so I will say all is set.”
The Minister commended the EC and all the appropriate bodies involved for being outstanding in advertising on all media platforms to create awareness on the processes leading to the exercise.
Significance of DLEs
Touching on the significance of the District Level Elections to national development, the Member of Parliament of Okere constituency reminded that these appointees serve as the intermediatory between their various districts and the government.
He, however, observeed that the low turnouts at previous district level elections stems from that fact the Constitution prohibits political parties from directly getting involved in the processes.
He said therefore, entreated the media to help intensify the awareness creation so that people would participate in the national exercise.
The 2023 District Level Elections
More than 66,000 individuals are competing for assembly and unit committee positions in the upcoming local polls.
The Electoral Commission’s statistics indicate 18,755 are vying as assembly member positions while 47,502 are going for unit positions, making an overall total of 66,257 candidates running for these posts.
The electoral battleground spans 6,215 electoral areas across 216 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies.
