The Programme Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in charge of General Services, Imurana Mohammed, has called for a shift from vote-buying awareness campaigns to practical action, arguing that civic education can only be effective if it influences citizens’ behaviour.

Speaking at the JoyNews' Impact Makers Foundation "Democracy Is Not for Sale" public forum, Mr Mohammed said while the NCCE continues to educate political party activists, particularly the youth, on laws governing public order, lasting democratic change requires more than classroom-style sensitisation.

He explained that the Commission has established inter-party dialogue committees with district-level structures across the country to provide platforms where political parties can resolve disagreements before they escalate into conflict.

Mr Mohammed, however, stressed that civic education should not be measured by the number of awareness campaigns conducted but by the extent to which they change attitudes and behaviour.

“One of the constraints to civic education is the fact that we do education, but nobody sits an exam for our education. If you go and do the education and leave it at that, then you are not doing civic education,” he said in Ho on Friday, July 31.

To bridge that gap, he said the NCCE collaborates with civil society organisations to ensure that public education translates into meaningful democratic participation.

As part of those efforts, the Commission has partnered with the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) to organise public forums across all 10 regional capitals to gather citizens’ views on the proposed Political Party Financing Bill.

Mr Mohammed said sustained collaboration, grassroots dialogue and practical civic engagement remain essential to promoting accountability, peaceful political participation and strengthening Ghana’s democracy.