Accra, Ghana – July 23, 2024
A high-level delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) led by Dr. Abdel-Fatau Musah, the Political Affairs, Peace, and Security Commissioner has met CSOs including CDD-Ghana, the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) and Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA).
The visit gave the delegation the opportunity to interact with CSOs and other stakeholders as part of ECOWAS’ quest to ensure electoral integrity ahead of elections in member states.
The delegation gathered information from stakeholders about Ghana’s electoral process. Providing a background to their visit, the Political Affairs, Peace and Security Commissioner highlighted the governance deficits in the region, such as attempts to manipulate elections and constitutions to accommodate elongation of presidential term limits; recent coup d’états in Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali; and the complexities introduced by various international alliances, and the need to improve the quality of democracy, as motivating factors for their visit.
“The purpose of our visit is to have informed views about the electoral process as Ghana gears towards the 2024 elections. We are here to meet all the key stakeholders and critical voices in the electoral process to gauge the state of preparedness of the country,” Dr. Abdel-Fatau Musah stated.
“ECOWAS is at a crucial juncture for regional integration in West Africa. Our objective is to make sure that we strengthen member states like Ghana, which has had uninterrupted regular elections since 1992. We are here to look at what is being done right, identify gaps, and work together to mitigate any potential crisis points in the upcoming elections,” he added.
Dr. Kojo Asante, Director of Policy Engagement and Partnerships at the Center in his presentation provided an overview of Ghana’s current political and electoral landscape. He highlighted the upcoming elections as a critical juncture for addressing pressing issues such as economic hardships, youth unemployment, and governance challenges. Dr. Asante also underscored the significance of ensuring the Electoral Commission’s independence as part of efforts to gain citizens’ confidence and trust, tackling political vigilantism, mitigating electoral violence, and combating misinformation and disinformation, all of which are pivotal in shaping voter sentiments and the integrity of the electoral process.
Joining CDD-Ghana in hosting the delegation were leaders from various civil society organizations (CSOs) – Madam Mary Addah (GII), Madam Beauty Emefa Nartey (GACC), Dr. Kojo Impraim (MFWA), and Mr. Paul N. K. Aborampah Mensah, Mr. Albert Arhin and Amb. Francis Tsegah of the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO).
The ECOWAS delegation plans to prepare a detailed report to determine their intervention strategy ahead of Ghana’s December 7 elections. They also intend to deploy long-term observer missions by October, followed by short-term observers, to ensure the elections are inclusive, transparent, and credible in the subregion.
Daniel Selormey is a Digital Communications Officer at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana).
