Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has met with former Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
In accordance with the ECOWAS Protocol on Good Governance and Democracy, madam Sirleaf, Head of ECOWAS election observer mission, and her delegation, are in Ghana from 3rd to 12th December, 2020 to observe Ghana’s Presidential and Parliamentary Elections to be held on 7th December, 2020.
She visited the Foreign Minister on Thursday, December 3, 2020, at her office in Accra.
Madam Sirleaf was accompanied by Marjon Kamara, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Liberia and former Liberian Ambassador to the UN; and Lewis Brown, former Minister for Information, Culture and Tourism of Liberia.
During the meeting, Madam Ayorkor Botchwey expressed sincere appreciation for their visit to Ghana to observe the Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
She recalled the recent visit of the joint ECOWAS/AU Pre-election team which was in Ghana to assess the country’s preparedness towards the general elections on 7th December.
She acknowledged the importance of elections in accessing the quality of a country’s governance system, and stress that it is a reflection of the right of citizens to choose their leaders.
According to the minister, Ghana was committed to promoting democracy, good governance, respect for human rights and the rule of law, which have underpinned her democratic governance since 1992.
She lauded the outstanding work done so far by ECOWAS towards the conduct of peaceful, free, fair and transparent elections in the region and for the ongoing efforts at calming political unrests in Mali, Guinea and Cote d’ Ivoire.
The Minister assured the delegation of the Government of Ghana’s commitment to working closely with stakeholders towards the conduct of a violence free, peaceful, fair and transparent elections.
She mentioned that specific measures have been put in place by the Government, the Electoral Commission and the National Election Security Architecture, headed by the Inspector General of Police, towards the establishment of Joint Operation Centers (JOCs), physical training and capacity building in the prosecution of electoral offences, with the overall goal of promoting violence free and tension-free elections.
Meanwhile, the Minister expressed the hope that stakeholders will put the interest of the country above all other considerations with the view to maintaining Ghana’s enviable image as a beacon of democracy in the region.
According to her, as a testament to the many efforts stakeholders have put in place to ensure the conduct of peaceful elections, the 2020 Special Voting exercise, organized ahead of the general elections, took place on Tuesday, 1st December, in a peaceful manner.
She further underscored the importance of unifying the people of Ghana before, during and after the elections in order to promote an effective and structured framework for nation building, and to bring about lasting peace and sustainable development in Ghana, expressing the the hope that the ECOWAS Observer Mission will perform their duty and attest to the credibility of the elections at the end of the whole process. In this regard, request the Mission to share their observations with Government.
By Melvin Tarlue