Election 2020: Misuse of state resources, unregulated campaign finance still persists – EU EOM

The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has noted the misuse of state resources and unregulated campaign financing still persists in Ghana’s electoral process.

Ghanaians went to the polls on December 7, 2020–for the eighth time since 1992 to elect a President and 275 Members of Parliament as part of a four year constitutional mandate.

According to Chief Observer Javier Nart, though the election was held in a peaceful and organised manner, its preliminary findings identified the aforementioned.

Addressing journalists at a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, November 10, 2020, Javier Nart said the vast majority of EU EOM observers positively assessed the voting process and the election environment.

“Ghanaians voted freely, and while there were isolated violent incidents on election day and during the campaign, fears of violence and vigilantism fortunately did not materialize,” Javier Nart said.

“However unregulated campaign finance, the reportedly common practice of vote-buying, and the prevalent misuse of state resources for electioneering purposes did not contribute to creating a level playing field among contestants. It would benefit future elections in Ghana if these issues were addressed,” he stressed.

The EU Chief Observer added that the election contest was a rather unique one that featured 12 candidates, a president, and a former president.

“For the first time, we had a woman running as a vice-presidential candidate. However, our mission has also noted that women are significantly underrepresented in Ghanaian politics, and this issue should be addressed as a priority,” he stated.

On election day, the EU EOM deployed some 80 observers throughout the country to monitor the electoral process. The mission arrived in Ghana on 31 October and will remain to observe post-electoral developments.

The Chief Observer emphasised that the electoral process was not yet over and that the findings of the EU EOM were preliminary in nature.