Amos Sawyer, Head of Mission addressing the media
THE ECOWAS Observation Mission to Ghana has urged all political parties that contested this year’s presidential and parliamentary elections to accept the outcome of the polls in good faith.
The Mission being led by Amos Sawyer, former interim president of Liberia, made the call in its preliminary report on the conduct of the elections held on Wednesday, December 7.
“The ECOWAS Observation Mission commends the professionalism of the Electoral Commission (EC) and urges all stakeholders, in particular, the political parties and candidates, to put Ghana first by maintaining the peace,” it said.
“The Mission therefore calls on all candidates and parties to abide by the Accra Declaration which they all willingly adhered to and, in particular, to refrain from making any statements on the results prior to formal declaration by the Electoral Commission, which is the body statutorily empowered to do so,” it added.
Presidential candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has been given a comfortable lead over incumbent President Mahama in the provisional results from about 95 constituencies as at press time yesterday.
According to the Mission, “After preliminary assessment of the information forwarded to the Situation Room by observers deployed in the field and after a debriefing session with the observers upon their return from the field, the Mission noted that the voting process was conducted professionally by the polling officials, who demonstrated adequate knowledge of their roles, and in the presence of party agents, in particular those of NPP and NDC.”
“In addition to the provisions made by the EC, voters with special needs were assisted to cast their vote;” it said.
Recommendations
“The ECOWAS Observer Mission encourages the Electoral Commission to review the distribution of electorate materials among the polling centres to minimize the existing disparity in numbers assigned to polling stations across the country,” the statement said.
“The ECOWAS Mission urges the in-coming administration and Parliament to consider the adoption of affirmative action to enhance the capacity of women particularly their participation in elected positions.”
BY Melvin Tarlue