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The ECOWAS Electoral Observation Mission has urged interested parties to resort only to legal means to seek redress for any grievances arising from the electoral process.
In its preliminary conclusions, the Mission headed by former Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf noted the preparation for the 2020 elections, the conduct of the electoral campaigns, as well as the processes on Election Day, until the publication of the results. on the part of the responsible officials in the polling stations, they were relatively free, fair and credible.
“ECOWAS wishes to congratulate the peace-loving people of Ghana for their exemplary behavior, tenacity, determination, sense of restraint, and demonstrated patriotism in their quest to deepen Ghana’s enviable democratic credentials,” he said.
The Mission also congratulated the National Electoral Commission, the security agencies and all stakeholders for their invaluable contribution to the success achieved thus far, and urged them to continue the process to its logical conclusion with the same determination, zeal and commitment.
In accordance with the provisions of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance (2001), and within the framework of support to Member States organizing elections, the President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to observe the general elections in Ghana.
The Mission, which is composed of a total of 125 observers, is composed of 12 long-term observers (LTO) and 113 short-term observers (STO), including delegations of West African ambassadors accredited to ECOWAS, the Tribunal of Justice of the ECOWAS and the Parliament of the ECOWAS Community.
It also includes experts from the relevant ministries and electoral management bodies of member states, civil society organizations, experts trained by the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center (KAIPTC) and the media.
The 125 members of the ECOWAS Observers were grouped into 48 teams and dispatched to the 16 regions, spread over Ghana’s electoral districts.
While on the ground, the observers were in constant contact with the Accra-based Mission Situation Room and other local and international observation missions to collect and consolidate information related to the polls.
On Election Day, in 85 percent of the polling stations observed, voters turned up early and voting began at the official opening time of 7:00 am.
He said there was a high presence of women and youth as voters and party / party officials and security officers were present in 91 percent of the polling stations visited by the observers.
“Our observers also noted that while there was at least one static security officer in most polling stations, in other polling stations security officers were on mobile patrol moving from one center to another,” he said.
The Mission said that, in general, political parties and their supporters respected the ban on displaying party colors and symbols in and around voting centers on Election Day.
Covid-19 protocols, including the availability of hand sanitizers, social distancing, and the use of face masks, were adhered to at the polls and by voters.
Party agents, particularly the NPP and NDC, were also present in most of the polling stations observed. In addition, some party agents from other political parties were present in some of the polling stations, in particular the Popular Convention Party and the National People’s Convention (PNC).
At the stations visited during the opening of the polls, the Election Officials maintained order to a large extent, particularly with the support of security on duty.
Voters in the queue behaved and remained calm until their turn, except in a few places that experienced initial chaos, but the situation gradually stabilized over time.
Likewise, arrangements were made in polling stations to facilitate and facilitate voting for vulnerable people such as the physically disabled, the elderly, pregnant women and mothers with babies and young children.
Despite the few challenges observed, voters demonstrated the utmost patience and perseverance in their determination to exercise their civic rights and responsibilities.
Election officials demonstrated adequate professionalism in the performance of their duties and responsibilities, while party agents skillfully looked out for the interests of their party and candidates.
International and local observers were present in most of the polling stations visited. These included, in addition to observers from ECOWAS, the African Union (AU), the Commonwealth and the European Union.
There was an effective presence of Local Observers, particularly CODEO and WANEP.
In most of the polling stations observed, the polls closed at the official time of 5:00 pm, because the majority of voters had finished casting their vote.
The classification, scrutiny, scrutiny and reconciliation of the ballots, as well as the declaration and certification of the results in the polling stations, were carried out in a professional, transparent and credible manner, and under the watchful eye of party agents and observers.
Regarding the challenges, the ECOWAS Observation Mission said it observed few isolated incidents that could have spoiled the smooth and peaceful conduct of the elections, including issues related to strict respect for the secrecy of voting in some of the polling stations. visited; Double voting at the Standards Education Center Voting Center in Asylum Down, Accra, arrest of two election commission officials for tampering with the presidential ballot in Awutu Senya West and Bawku Central.
“In general, the voting process was conducted in an orderly, transparent and professional manner, and the secrecy of the ballot was generally respected.
In the opinion of the ECOWAS Observation Mission, the aforementioned challenges observed did not undermine the transparency, fairness and credibility of the electoral process at this time, ”he said.
