Mr George Adu Darko, Assembly Member for Olebu Electoral Area, Ga Central Municipality, has called for the District Level Elections to be made partisan to increase voter turnout.
He said when the election was politicised, it would encourage supporters of parties at the local level to rally residents to vote just as done in the presidential and parliamentary elections.
Mr Darko said this in an interview with the GNA on his preparation for the upcoming elections.
The Assembly Member, who is also the Presiding Member for the Ga Central Municipal Assembly, said they faced challenges with mobilising funds and logistics to run elections.
He said that had necessitated the need for some aspirants to hide behind political parties for the needed support to run their campaigns.
“Already, most of our colleagues are sponsored by political parties behind the scenes. So, why not make it public and easy for them to run on political parties’ support,” he asked.
Mr Darko also called for the payment of monthly allowances and stipends to Assembly members to enable them fund development projects in their communities.
“Everyday, I have people coming to me for financial support in the form of school fees, rent, feeding, among others. If you don’t give them they would say they won’t vote for you.
“So I have to find money and give it to them. Some even at the time of voting would request money from you before they vote. This is becoming too burdensome for us,” he said.
Meanwhile, some residents the GNA spoke to expressed mixed feelings about the upcoming elections.
Madam Adwoa Sarpomaa, a provision store owner, said they only saw the aspirants when it was time for elections.
She said she was not sure of voting because she had not benefited from voting in the last four years.
Nii Laryea, a youth in the area, said most aspirants often promised too much and provided little, stressing that it had caused most people to lose interest in the elections.
He called for a change in the Election Day to a weekend when people would be at home or less busy to vote.
Mr Samuel Kofi Asamoah, a taxi driver at Olebu Junction, called for more sensitisation of the public on the elections since it was critical for community development.
Two persons are standing for elections in the Olebu Electoral Area. They are the incumbent Mr George Adu Darko and Abdul Rahman. The area forms part of the 23 electoral areas in the Ga Central Municipality.
Source: GNA
