62 aspirants contest various GJA positions today

Eligible members of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) are today, June 30, going to the polls to elect national and regional officers to steer the affairs of the association for the next three years.

The polls, which opened at 0800 hours, are expected to close at 1500 hours, with a total of 883 members expected to cast their ballots across the country.

The GJA Elections Committee has announced that the Ghana Card, passport, and voter identification card will be the valid forms of identification.

A total of 62 candidates have been cleared to contest the various positions – 13 at the national level and 49 across the regions.

After the close of polls, counting and announcement of results will be done at each voting centre.

The Regional Executive Election Results shall be declared at the Regional Voting Centre and results communicated via a designated platform announced by the GJA Elections Committee.

The National Executive Elections Results from the various voting centres would be collated at the Press Centre in Accra, and the final results would be declared there.

The Elections Committee, in a statement on Sunday, urged members to ignore what it described as a “fake voters’ list” circulating on social media.

It urged members to solely rely on the official voters’ register, which had been duly signed by both the GJA General Secretary and Treasurer.

The Committee also urged members to comport themselves responsibly across the voting centres and cautioned that the Police had been notified to be on standby to intervene if it became necessary.

Key national positions being contested include President, Vice President, General Secretary, Organising Secretary, Treasurer, and Public Affairs Officer.

The Presidential race is a two-horse contest between incumbent Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, seeking a second term, and Charles Yao Mawusi, a communication specialist and media consultant.

The Vice President race is an all-female contest between Rebecca Ekpe, current Public Affairs Officer and GBC editor, and Mary Tawiah Mensah, Foreign Editor of the Daily Graphic and a former GJA Public Affairs Officer.

For the General Secretary position, Dominic Hlordzi, the current Organising Secretary, is vying for the position. He faces Akwasi Agyeman, who contested in 2022 but was not successful.

In a competitive race for Organising Secretary, Maxwell Kudekor, the GJA Eastern Regional Chairman, is contesting in Accra against Suleiman Mustapha, Acting Editor of the Graphic Business.

Another all-female contest is shaping up for Treasurer between Bertha Badu-Agyei of the Ghana News Agency and Theodora Amedetor of the GBC.

For Public Affairs Officer, Caesar Abagali of the Ghana News Agency is making a comeback bid after his previous loss, competing against Zadok Kwame Gyesi, formerly of Graphic Online.

Founded in 1949, the GJA is the main professional body representing journalists in Ghana.

Its mission includes promoting journalistic professionalism and standards, strengthening the media’s role in democracy and governance.

It defends freedom of expression, media pluralism, and access to information.

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