Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, has urged stakeholders in Ghana’s elections later this year to work together with a view to ensuring peace and electoral integrity.
“We have noted the political polarisation in Ghana,” Jega said during an interaction with the stakeholders in Accra courtesy the Kofi Annan Foundation’s Electoral Integrity Initiative’s (EII).
He added: “We encourage all stakeholders to work together to ensure electoral integrity. Peaceful, credible elections are the responsibility of all, and not only of the Electoral Commission. Candidates, political parties and civil society all have a role to play.”
The Director of Electoral Integrity Programmes at the US-based National Democratic Institute (NDI), Dr. Patrick Merloe, who also addressed political party and civil society leaders at the forum, said:”Our visit is an indication of the early and keen interest of the international community in seeing credible, peaceful elections in Ghana this year.
“The warm welcome given to us by Election Commission of Ghana and other stakeholders is reassuring.”
Although Ghana has established a distinguished electoral track record since the return to multi-party democracy, each election has seen tensions flare and accusations of electoral malpractice fly.
The EII was born of the conclusions of the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy & Security’s report, Deepening Democracy, chaired by Annan.
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