By Francis Kobena Tandoh
Polling opened at 0800 hours GMT at designated centres across the country for paid-up members of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) on Monday morning to elect regional and national officers to steer the affairs of the association.
In all, a total of 883 members are expected to cast their ballots across the country. A total of 62 candidates have been cleared to contest the various positions – 13 at the national level and 49 across the regions.
According to the GJA Elections Committee, the Ghana Card, Passport, and Voter Identification Card will be the valid forms of identification for the election.
The Regional Executive Election Results shall be declared at the Regional Voting Centre, and results communicated via a designated platform announced by the GJA Elections Committee.
The National Executive Elections Results from the various voting centres would be collated at the Press Centre, Accra, and the final results would be declared there.
The Elections Committee, in a statement on Sunday, urged members to ignore what it described as a “fake voters’ list” circulating on social media.
It urged members to solely rely on the official voters’ register, which had been duly signed by both the GJA General Secretary and Treasurer.
This year’s GJA election, according to reports monitored by the Ghana Eye Report, indicates the stakes are much higher, with new candidates calling for fresh faces to lead the media association.
Among the national positions being contested are President, Vice President, General Secretary, Organising Secretary, Treasurer, and Public Affairs Officer.
The presidential race is a two-horse contest between incumbent Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, who is seeking a second term, and Charles Yao Mawusi, a communication specialist and media consultant.
The Vice President race is an all-female contest between Rebecca Ekpe, current Public Affairs Officer and GBC editor, and Mary Tawiah Mensah, Foreign Editor of the Daily Graphic and a former GJA Public Affairs Officer.
For the General Secretary position, Dominic Hlordzi, the current Organising Secretary, is vying for the position. He faces Akwasi Agyeman, who contested in 2022 but was not successful.
In a competitive race for Organising Secretary, Maxwell Kudekor, the GJA Eastern Regional Chairman, is contesting in Accra against Suleiman Mustapha, Acting Editor of the Graphic Business.
Another all-female contest is shaping up for Treasurer between Bertha Badu-Agyei of the Ghana News Agency and Theodora Amedetor of the GBC.
For Public Affairs Officer, Caesar Abagali of the Ghana News Agency is making a comeback bid after his previous loss, competing against Zadok Kwame Gyesi, formerly of Graphic Online.
GJA President Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, who is seeking re-election, believes that he has achieved quite a lot under his first term and wants another term to take the association to the next level.
Polling is expected to close at 1500 hours GMT, after which results will be announced. Enditem
Source: Ghana Eye Report
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