EU observation mission starts work

General news for Thursday, November 12, 2020

Source: 3 News

2020-11-12

The European Union has sent more than 80 people to Ghana to observe the general elections on December 7.

The team is led by Chief Observer Javier Nart, member of the European Parliament of Spain.

The EU observation mission is made up of a core team and observers from European countries such as Norway, Switzerland and Canada.

The core team of nine analysts will analyze political, electoral and legal issues related to the electoral process and will be supported by experts in logistics and security.

Chief Observer Javier Nart said the mission is a clear sign of the EU’s strong commitment to supporting peaceful, credible and transparent elections in Ghana.

It is the third EU EOM to Ghana after 2008 and 2016, as well as an electoral monitoring mission in 2019.

In a statement, the Chief Observer said that this year’s contest is unique and very interesting and features, among the 12 candidates, a president and a former president.

On Election Day, the mission will be supplemented across the country by some 30 locally recruited short-term observers from the diplomatic community.

This will bring the number of EU observers on Election Day to more than 80.

The Chief Observer said that the coronavirus pandemic meant that there were “difficult times to hold elections and also difficult times to observe them.”

Observers will be dispatched to the 16 regions to observe the electoral process, including the legal framework and its implementation, campaign activities, the conduct of the electoral administration, social and traditional media, voting, counting and the collection of results. .

The team will remain in the country beyond Election Day to observe the post-election environment.

The EU is expected to release a preliminary statement shortly after Election Day and a final report including recommendations after the entire electoral process is completed.