The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) says it intends to hold presidential and parliamentary debates in October and November, although exact dates haven’t been set.
“The IEA envisages holding the Encounters in September and the Debates in October and November. The IEA will announce the exact dates, times, and venues for these events after conducting an engagement with candidates and their political parties,” it said, announcing the launch of the 2024 Election Debate Series on Wednesday.
As part of that process, a presidential debate committee is being constituted to determine the ground rules that will govern the debates and encounters and to solicit questions from Ghanaians.
The debates this time around would happen in three series – presidential debates, vice-presidential debates, and presidential evening encounters – all happening before the December general elections.
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“The IEA will hold two presidential debates respectively in Kumasi and Accra for flagbearers selected based on electoral criteria to be set and announced by the Institute. The IEA will hold one vice presidential debate in Accra for selected candidates. The IEA will organize one evening encounter for each of the selected presidential candidates,” it said in a statement.
Unlike the debates where candidates respond to anonymous questions from anonymous Ghanaians, the evening encounters are set in a town hall-like format requiring that candidates respond directly to questions from representatives of key stakeholder groups.
Press Statement: The IEA announces its 2024 Election Debate Series to promote issue-based campaigns and strengthen Ghana’s democratic process. #ghanadecides2024#debateforchange#leadershipmatters pic.twitter.com/gIcmG68zBC
— IEA Ghana (@IEAGhana) August 7, 2024
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