The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) is petitioning the Electoral Commission (EC) to relax a new law, CI 72, which bars journalists from participating in early voting this year. The GJA says that if it's petition is honored, it will guarantee the credibility of the elections and prevent voters from tampering with electoral results. The petition follows the EC’s announcement that henceforth only electoral officials, security personnel and agents of political parties who will be directly involved in the elections are eligible for early voting. Early on Wednesday, Sylvia Annor, the Principal Public Relations Officer of the Commission, announced the EC's decision that no members of the press would be eligible for early voting this election. “There are several changes in the electioneering processes. The new law being used, CI 72, indicates that anybody who wants to take part in the early voting, you must work with the electoral commission or security personnel who will be busy on the Election Day. Even that you have to write an application to the EC 42 days before elections…” she explained. According to Annor, the only way for journalists to avoid the long election day queues is to wake up early on December 7th to cast their votes so that they will be free to cover the elections later in the day. However, GJA General Secretary Bright Blewu told JOY NEWS that because the media clause of the law was not debated in Parliament for a long enough time, the Association did not get a chance to contribute to the conversation. He said the GJA was in the process of submitting a formal petition to the EC to request an urgent meeting with EC Chair Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan so that he might consider the organization's plea for the early voting privileges. He said if the EC prevents journalists from participating in early voting, the elections will suffer from a lack of media coverage because most city-dwelling journalists would prefer to cast their ballots in their own neighborhoods before traveling across town to cover assignments.