CSOs urge EC to guarantee free and fair elections on December 7

A group of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have appealed to the Electoral Commission to safeguard Ghana’s democracy by ensuring a free and fair election on December 7, 2020.

The Civil Society Organisations Platform for Good Governance (CSOPGG) noted that Ghana has witnessed peaceful elections and transfer of power from one political party to another since 1992 when the Fourth Republic started.

The CSOPGG urged the EC to ensure that the story is not any different during the presidential and parliamentary elections on December 7.

According to the state-owned newspaper, Daily Graphic, the Executive Director of Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA), who is a member of the CSOPGG, Alhaji Osman Abdul-Rahman, made the appeal to the EC in Tamale last Tuesday during an event to mark the International Day of Democracy.

Alhaji Abdul-Rahman, according to the Daily Graphic report, indicated that Ghana’s democracy should be safeguarded because it was the best form of government that could lead to sustainable development and allow maximum participation in the governance process.

"As a nation, let us do everything in our power to maintain the enviable reputation we have so far established as one of the leading countries whose democratic development is a shining example for others," the report quoted the CSOPGG member.

Alhaji Abdul-Rahman also said vigilantism and electoral violence, if not checked, could hurt the country’s electoral process and put our democracy in jeopardy.

"The increasing use of virtual space and electronic medium of communication has also heightened the threat of widespread use of fake news, insulting language, as well as dirty propaganda in election campaigns and political discourse," Mr Abdul-Rahman is reported to have said.

He also called on the media to uphold maximum journalistic standards, values and ethics in the reportage of electoral processes and activities to avoid the threats that came from fake news.