'Elections are human rights events' - CDD-Ghana senior program officer

Senior Program Officer at the Center for Democratic Development Ghana (CDD-Ghana), Michael Akagbor, has urged journalists, and the public for that matter, to be guided by the fact that elections are human rights events.

He explained that while many people think of elections as an event for the political actors that participate in them, it is pretty much a human rights one that touches on the very needs and concerns of the public.

Speaking during a CDD-Ghana media training on electoral reforms at Tema, on Monday, April 22, 2024, Michael Akagbor stressed that “Human rights must be central to elections in the country.

“... we must include human rights monitoring in our focus for elections... the elections is not on the actors, but on the people who give them the power.”

The CDD-Ghana senior program officer also explained some of the things that journalists should be wary of when going into any election, including the use of language.

On that, he explained that “Language is a powerful tool for violence,” urging the media to be circumspect and ensure that in its communication on electoral matters, it does not rather incite acts of violence.

The Centre for Democratic Development Ghana (CDD-Ghana) two-day media training workshop ended on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.

It aimed at building the capacities of journalists on electoral reforms, as the country heads into a crucial national election period in December 2024.

According to the CDD, these kinds of trainings aim to enforce Ghana’s place as a democratic nation, having successfully organised eight (8) peaceful elections since 1992.

“Ghana remains a relatively stable democracy in Africa amidst a general decline in the quality of democracy on the continent. Since 1992, Ghana has held eight successive multi-party elections and experienced four peaceful transfers of power from a ruling administration to an opposition party - a feat still uncommon in most countries on the African continent. Even though elections are usually marked by tension among the competing political parties and or the election management body, the outcomes are largely deemed peaceful and credible. A notable factor that has shaped election processes and outcomes in Ghana is the adoption and implementation of electoral reforms. Over the past three decades, incremental implementation of electoral reforms has contributed significantly to improving transparency, accountability and integrity of polls and suppressed violence tendencies. Examples of these reform measures include the replacement of opaque ballot boxes with transparent ballot boxes, introduction of the photo ID cards and biometric verification/devices, extension of voter registration days from 14 days to 21 days, among others.

“Notwithstanding, a number of proposed reforms are required for ensuring the peacefulness and credibility of the processes before, during and after the 2024 general elections. Some of the significant reform proposals in the 2020 general elections concerns correction of mistakes at the collation centers, publication of election results and adjudication of parliamentary election disputes, among others. While reforms have contributed positively towards election integrity, their adoption and implementation require painstaking efforts in building consensus and common understanding among key election stakeholders including the media and the public - who by far, are major beneficiaries of election reforms. Again, the media sometimes exhibit limited understanding of electoral reforms and their consequences on the processes and outcomes of elections,” the CDD said.

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