The District Level Elections (DLE) for this year came to a close at 1700 hours nationwide, marking the eighth occasion Ghanaians have participated in electing their local-level representatives since the country embraced democratic rule in 1992.
The elections were held in 6,215 electoral areas across 216 metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies, excluding Nkoranza North and South in the Bono East Region.
The Electoral Commission faced technical challenges earlier in the day, leading to the rescheduling of voting in some electoral areas in the Eastern and Ashanti regions.
Despite these setbacks, the elections continued as planned, with over 66,000 candidates vying for positions in the District Assembly and Unit Committee.
According to the District Assembly Elections Act, DLE is to be conducted every four years, with a requirement to be held at least six months apart from parliamentary elections.
In this year's elections, data from the Electoral Commission indicated that 18,755 aspirants contested for Assemblymember positions, with 47,502 candidates running for Unit Committee positions.
Out of the 18,755 Assemblymember aspirants, 17,474 were males, constituting 94%, while females accounted for 1,106, representing 6%.
Similarly, in the Unit Committee category, out of the 47,502 aspirants, 40,923 were males, making up 88%, and 5,413 were females, representing 11.6%.
Historically, the DLE has grappled with voter apathy and lack of enthusiasm, despite being viewed as a vital platform for citizens to actively participate in selecting their local representatives.
Over the years, voter turnout has seen fluctuations, with varying percentages recorded in each election cycle.
In the most recent exercise, some electoral areas reported relatively long queues, particularly in the Greater Accra region and other parts of the country.
However, many areas witnessed low voter turnouts. The persistent issue of low participation among women in these elections was also noted.
Various organizations, including the Ghana Journalists Association, encouraged the electorate to exercise their civic duty by going out to vote in the District Level Elections.