History

The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) is an independent and non-partisan network of civil society groups, faith-based organizations and professional bodies which observe Ghanaian elections. It was established in the year 2000 under the auspices of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) to mobilize citizens of Ghana to actively participate in the electoral process and to complement the efforts of Ghana’s Electoral Commission in ensuring transparent, free, fair and peaceful elections.

Three main developments inspired the establishment of CODEO.

First, by the late 1990s, the country was preparing for its third successive general elections in which the incumbent president was not contesting. To help ensure that the elections were peaceful, transparent, and credible, Ghana needed a credible and competent non-partisan civic body to observe the conduct of the polls to complement the work of the Electoral Commission.

Second, CODEO was established in response to the demands of Ghanaian civil society for accountable and responsive governance, respect for the rule of law and human rights, democratic participation and inclusion, and above all, free, fair, and transparent elections.

Third, the establishment of CODEO was informed by the vision and mission of CDD-Ghana, an organization committed to promoting democratic development and the participation of citizens in Ghana’s decision-making.

CODEO is the largest and most organized domestic election observation network in Ghana. It has impartially observed every election in Ghana since the year 2000. This includes party primaries, local government elections, general elections, and by-elections.