European Union observers in the
just ended Presidential and Parliamentary elections in Ghana have said results
were not publicly displayed in 17 polling stations they observed.
The observers however noted,
“voting was conducted in a generally peaceful atmosphere and voting procedures
were mostly followed, including the biometric verification of voters”.
“Furthermore, presiding officers
appeared to have difficulties completing the result forms. The polling station
result forms were not publicly displayed in 17 polling stations although party
agents received signed copy of the result form in all cases,” the EU observers
said in their 12-page report on the election.
The report also praised civil
society organisations in the country.
“Ghanaian civil society has a
strong presence and a leading role in electoral observation. Domestic
observation is organised, credible, and well perceived by stakeholders. The
Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), a network of 43 organisations
advocating for democratic institutional development and human rights, leads the
national observation activities.
“CODEO, with support from the
Centre for Democratic Development (CDD Ghana), amongst others, deployed around
4,000 observers on election day. CODEO issued reports on registration,
campaigning, and incidents, and set up a parallel vote tabulation (PVT)
exercise. The Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) deployed some 700
observers”.
It also raised concerns over the
collation process in the polls.
“Collation of results at the constituency level was observed
in 35 constituency collation centres with many of them being visited
repeatedly. Collation process was less well organised and less transparent
often due to a lack of detailed procedures, inadequate facilities, and
overcrowding which at times led to agents and observers not having a clear view
of the procedures and the filling in of result forms.”
“Instances of unrest and tension were observed in Asawase,
Sunyani West, and Techiman South constituencies. The results were collated in
the presence of party agents and observers and key transparency measures were
adhered to”.
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