EC appreciates overall feedback, ranking of the 2020 General Elections by EU Electoral Observer Mission

The Electoral Commission has thanked the EU Election Observer Mission (EOM) for its recently released report on the 2020 General Elections. While the Commission appreciates the overall feedback and ranking, it does not agree with some aspects of the report.

That notwithstanding, the commission reiterates its commitment to undertaking free, fair, credible, transparent and peaceful elections in Ghana.

According to the EU EOM, the 2020 General Elections met international standards and after assessing the commission’s structures during the 2020 General Elections, the EU Election Observation Mission in Ghana in its final report concluded that the Commission is competent, well-resourced, and transparent.

The Commission says it is proud of the 95% success rate assessed in the 329 polling stations observed by the European Union Election Observer Mission.

Among the key findings from the report is that despite the COVID-19 challenges, preparations were completed on time and all the Elections 2020 materials delivered well ahead of time to all regions in Ghana. This was made possible by the field operatives and EC officials who worked round the clock to make it a reality.

The report also found that there was an improvement in the EC’s communication with its stakeholders. This is testament to the zeal and goal the EC had of having transparent, free and fair elections and indeed, involving all stakeholders made this a reality.

The EC promises to make the regular #LetTheCitizenKnow sessions and robust involvement of all stakeholders a hallmark of its operations going forward. According to the EC, it worked hand-in-hand with agents of all Political Parties from the beginning to the end of the 2020 electoral process and shall maintain this in all our future electoral processes.

The EU report also highlights that the EC significantly increased the number of polling stations throughout the country to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 at polling stations on election day.

In addition to increasing the number of polling stations for the 2020 General Elections, the Commission also deployed COVID-19 Ambassadors at all polling stations. They ensured that all safety measures such as – hand washing, wearing of masks, and the use of hand sanitizers were observed.

“We saw the need to provide timely updates to the general public on the EC’s official social media platforms with a campaign dubbed #LetTheCitizenKnow. The educational campaign which provided regular updates on all the EC’s processes as well as countering fake news, built credibility and confidence in the EC and ensured a peaceful electoral process”.

While the Commission was committed to being transparent, fair and credible in the 2020 electoral process and will continue to uphold these tenets in the conduct of future elections, it maintains that it will certainly continue to improve further.