Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, has pledged his country’s and that of the European Union’s support towards all efforts to entrench democracy in Ghana, including the provision of free and fair elections.
President Mattarella said this when he called on President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House yesterday, as part of a three-day state visit to Ghana.
He said the future of the world lies in how individual countries cooperate with each other because the success and growth of each country enriches the growth of all others.
He observed that there is a strong bond that exists between Ghana and Italy, and his country is looking forward to stepping up the relations and improving the same.
President Akufo-Addo, on his part, promised to ensure that the upcoming 2024 general elections are held in a very free, fair and transparent manner.
This, he said, would ensure a smooth transfer of power from himself to whoever gets elected as the next President of the Republic.
“This December, we are going to have the 9th presidential and parliamentary elections of the 4th Republic of Ghana, and I want to assure you and through you, all our friends in Europe that we as a government led by me, will make sure that the conditions of the elections are impeccable, that we have transparent, free, credible elections in Ghana to give the Ghanaian people the opportunity and the right to choose who will be their leader four years from now,” was how he put it.
By January 7, 2025, President Akufo-Addo would have served the constitutionally mandated two terms of four years given to any person as President.
He would therefore bring his eight-year term to an end.
For him, that should be enough for any single individual, and would therefore not do anything that will affect the smooth transition of power.
He has assured not only Ghanaians but the international community that his government will do everything within its mandate to ensure the country’s enviable democratic credentials are maintained and improved after the December 7 general elections.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent