Global Media Alliance Broadcasting Company (GMABC), has launched its election coverage, action plan and team for the general elections later this year, dubbed ‘GMABC Election Camp’.
The launch took place earlier this week at the e.TV Ghana studios, and was used to outdoor the working logo for this year’s coverage and special campaigns to encourage and educate electorates. Since 2012, the GMABC Election Camp has been at the forefront of providing comprehensive coverage of elections held in the country, particularly the presidential and parliamentary elections.
GMABC’s media platforms – Happy FM, e.TV Ghana, www.happyghana.com, and www.etvghana.com as well as social media and digital platforms – are well-placed as the go-to destinations for comprehensive analysis of activities of the key political parties contesting the elections.
In a documentary that formed part of the launch, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Global Media Alliance Group (GMA) Ernest Boateng outlined all the activities the GMABC Election Camp will be embarking on to keep all subjects of the news informed and educated.
“As media owners, we take the role of our brands seriously That is why our political shows with segments like ‘Wo Mpesoaso’ and ‘Editors’ Take’ are geared toward helping the electorate to assess political parties and candidates before voting.
“And we ensure that accurate, truthful and non-derogatory information is provided about them. For fairness and accuracy, reporters and presenters cross-check every piece of information that they receive, and are expected to be fair to all subjects of the news,” he said.
On what the brand is doing about voter education, Ernest Boateng said: “For voter education we have jingles, TVCs and crawlers that will educate electorates about proper practice during this year’s general elections. This includes observance of all COVID-19 safety protocols during the voter registration exercise and on election day, the dos and don’ts on polling day, using material from the Electoral Commission and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).”
He also mentioned several campaigns that are geared toward encouraging first-time voters and disillusioned voters due to apathy to exercise their franchise.
“We have also initiated various campaigns like the ‘Vote with Me’, which is meant to encourage first-time and young voters to participate in the decision-making process. Electorates who have participated in the voting process over time may be disillusioned and voter apathy may set in, so many people may decide to sit out altogether as a result.
“As part of the ‘I pledge to vote’ campaign, we are telling the Ghanaian electorate that perhaps more than ever every vote counts; so they should come out in their numbers to vote,” he said.
“To ensure peaceful elections, the effort of all stakeholders – especially major players like the Electoral Commission, political parties, government and the media – must instil trust, confidence, commitment and, most importantly, patriotism in citizens. As a media organisation committed to peaceful elections, we have a number of peace initiatives we are driving on our platforms.”
