The 2023 District Level Elections (DLE) have been scheduled by the Electoral Commission (EC) to take place on Tuesday, December 19, 2023.

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The current Assembly Members, who were elected in 2019, are approaching the end of their tenure in December of this year.

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This prompts the need for the election of new Assembly Members who will serve for the upcoming four years.

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During a press conference held in Accra on Thursday, Mrs. Jean Mensa, the Chairperson of the Commission, disclosed that the registration of new voters will occur from September 12, 2023, to October 2, 2023.

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This registration process will be facilitated at the Commission's 268 District Offices.

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The EC's objective is to achieve a 60 percent voter turnout for this year's DLE. They have also made an appeal to the media to assist in raising awareness and educating the public about the significance of this electoral exercise.

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Mrs. Mensa further conveyed that the DLE will encompass all 6,272 electoral areas, except for Nkoranza North and Nzoranka South located in the Bono East Region.

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“This is because the district level elections were not held in 2019 for the said districts due to security reasons but was postponed and conducted in April 2021.

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“As such, the elections would not be held in both regions until 2025”, the Chairperson explained.

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Mrs. Mensa mentioned that the Commission has meticulously developed a comprehensive schedule of events for the forthcoming DLE, which will be released to the public at an appropriate time.

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She extended encouragement to those who are eligible but have not yet been included in the electoral roll to participate in the forthcoming registration drive. This would enable them to cast their votes in the elections scheduled for December 19.

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Mrs. Mensa provided assurance that the upcoming voter registration initiative will not be the solitary registration effort leading up to the 2024 General Election.

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Regarding individuals who have misplaced their voter ID cards, she explained that these lost cards can be replaced at any of the District Registration Centers for a fee of GHC10.

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“We state categorically that persons, who have lost their ID card do not need to register again. They simply have to request for a replacement of their cards,” Mrs Mensa said.

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Mr Samuel Tettey, the Deputy Chairman of the EC in Charge of Operations, said the Commission would take steps to ensure high voter participation in the DLE.

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“There will be stakeholder engagements with the civil society, security agencies, faith based organisations and a massive awareness in the media and public announcements by district electoral officers,” he said.

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During the previous District Level Elections held in 2019, a total of 57,000 candidates participated in the electoral contest across the country's 6,700 electoral areas.

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Since the late 1980s, the DLE has consistently experienced low voter turnout. According to data provided by the EC, the National Average Voter Turnout for the DLE was 59.3 percent in 1988/89, followed by 29.3 percent in 1994, 41.6 percent in 1998, 33.1 percent in 2002, 39.3 percent in 2006, 35.5 percent in 2010, 30.6 percent in 2015, and 33 percent in 2019.

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