With just days to go before the December 7 general elections, the Electoral Commission (EC) has implemented new restrictions on media and observer access at collation centres.
The decision, aimed at boosting security and ensuring a streamlined collation process, limits media presence at both constituency and regional levels.
Under the new guidelines, only eight media houses will be allowed at each constituency collation centre, while 12 media houses, including five TV stations and seven radio stations, will be permitted at the regional centres.
Dr. Eric Bossman Asare, the EC’s Deputy Commissioner, explained the rationale behind the directive during an interview on Eyewitness News on November 26, 2024. He stressed that the restrictions are essential for maintaining a smooth and secure election result collation process.
“We arrived at our conclusion based on our history and the nature of the collation centres. If you are not very careful and you don’t manage the centres very well, you may end up having a lot of challenges to deal with.
“So, the commission believes that this particular arrangement will create a very smooth coalition exercise at the constituency and the regional level.
“We are not only reducing numbers for the media, it is something which cuts across. We are making the point that with the 8 media houses, let us take a constituency like Banda, Hohoe, or Bantama and you have eight media houses, we think they should be enough to be able to send the information,” he stated.
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