The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in the Keta Municipality of the Volta Region, has engaged some basic schools within the area on electoral processes ahead of the 2024 December polls.

The exercise was to equip all registered eligible students on how to independently choose and vote for candidates correctly during the election.

Raymond Siameh-Carr, the Keta Field Operations Officer at NCCE, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, stated that the exercise was necessary to encourage all voters to vote based on their conscience and choose candidates by secret balloting without any interference or intimidation.

“This exercise is very important for all, especially the first-time voters and many of the students who have just registered need to be educated on how the process goes,” he stated.

He stated that the move was also aimed at providing more education to first-time voters on the basic principles of the election.

Mr Siameh-Carr further stated that the exercise was also used to equip eligible voters to know that it was their civic responsibility to cast their votes freely in all organised Electoral Commission elections.

He urged students to avoid engaging politicians who do not preach peace before, during and after the general elections to maintain the peace being enjoyed by all.

He also lamented about how the Keta NCCE faced a major challenge of lack of vehicles that could have enabled staff easy access to reach out to many communities and schools for a similar education before the election.

He appealed to the public, corporate organisations, philanthropists, and the government to help address challenges for regular and smooth exercise in many other schools and communities.

Some schools the NCCE visited include Keta Basic School, Kedzi Basic School, Bishop Herman Basic School and others.

Some participants the GNA spoke with expressed joy over the exercise and thanked NCCE for the educative exercise ahead of the elections.

Meanwhile, four candidates including Hope Courage Goldberg-Grimm Lekettey of NPP, Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey of NDC, Yayra Kwaku Kwashie of LPG and Stanley Courage Dugahan independent candidate would contest for Keta parliamentary seat in the upcoming polls.

GNA also understands that some 53,131 eligible voters were also expected to exercise their franchise during this year’s election in the Keta constituency.