Department of Communication Studies Partners Penplusbytes Towards Ensuring Violence-Free Elections

Ahead of the December 7 general elections, the Department of Communication Studies of the University of Ghana is collaborating with Penplusbytes on its African Elections Project aimed at supporting efforts towards peaceful, transparent and credible elections.

The Africa Elections Project which has covered 16 elections across the African continent so far will set up an All Media Tracking Centre (AMTC) in Ghana. The AMTC will run on a system that monitors and responds, in real-time, to reports emanating from discussions about elections on social media platforms (e.g.Twitter, Facebook) as well as mainstream media. The idea is to identify trends, detect and verify election irregularities and instances of violence that warrant immediate attention.

As partners, the Department of Communication Studies will support the project by recruiting volunteers from its students who will serve as monitors and verifiers of conversations in the media for the puspose of categorising incidents to be communicated to the National Elections Security Task Force, Electoral Commission, National Peace Council, Elections observers among others for redress. The project presents an opportunity to enhance the research and social media analytics skills of the Department’s students while contributing to a violence-free Election 2020.