Election Website Launched

Accra, July 15, GNA - A Website, "electionghana.com" meant to highlight activities on the Election 2004 and to enhance Ghana's electoral process was on Thursday launched in Accra by Africa Online in collaboration with Salcom Limited.

The website, which, would have features including bulletin boards, feedback forms, comments pages, discussion forums, questions pages among other features would give the opportunity to all political parties to give out information to the public both in Ghana and abroad.

Mr Kwasi Adu-Gyan, Information Communication Technology (ICT) Advisor to the Minister of Communication, who launched it said in order for the election website to be viable party web teams, political editors of various media houses and political pressure groups needed to develop a strategy that would make maximum use of the web's capacity to help achieve its goals.

He said: "In the realm of democracy, as demonstrated in our last elections by websites such as joyonline.com; ghanaweb.com most of us Ghanaians both at home and in the Diaspora at the time did notice the benefits of using the unique nature of the internet to revitalise democracy and be well informed."

Mr Edward Ato Sarpong, Chief Executive of Africa Online, said the high cost of operation of Internet Service Providers was affecting the country negatively.

Mr Sarpong called on the Ministry of Communication and the National Communications Authority to help regulate what was happening on the market so as to create a level playing field between the Ghana Telecom and the private sector.

He said Africa Online deemed it a duty to provide information to the outside world and called on all political parties to send information to the site.

Ms Ajoa Yeboah-Afari, President of the Ghana Journalists Association, said the website would be of special interest to Ghanaians living abroad.

She said: "There must not be compromise on standards because many people all over the world would be turning to the site for information and we believe it is an opportunity to exhibit all that is good about journalism in Ghana."

She expressed the hope that the website would contribute to a free, fair and peaceful elections.

Mr Steve Larbi, Managing Director of Salcom, operators of the website, said the site was not a political website but: "It is an information website."

"It is a one stop information site for any literate, who wants to know anything about the election," he said.

Mr Larbi called on all businessmen to also use the opportunity to advertise at the site at lower charges.