THE Governments of Ghana and United States yesterday signed an agreement under which the US Government would provide $200,000 in support of this year’s general elections to be held in December.
The amount, which is to be put into the Election Trust Fund, would be made available to the Electoral Commission (EC) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to assist in its preparations towards the elections.
A Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Victor Selormey and the US Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Kathryn Dee Robinson signed on behalf of their respective governments.
In her remarks, Ms Robinson said this year’s elections are significant in the history of Ghana, since it would be the first peaceful transition from an elected President to another.
She said no matter which party wins the presidency or the most seats in Parliament, “the real winners would be the people of Ghana who will have had the opportunity to exercise their political rights freely,” adding that a fair election, therefore, will place the country more firmly on the path of democratic consolidation.
Ms Robinson noted that whilst the task of ensuring a smooth and transparent electoral process is a shared responsibility of all Ghanaians, the EC has a legal and operational role to play.
It is in view of this, she said, that the US Government, which has already contributed $1 million in financial and technical assistance towards the elections, is again assisting the EC to cover its budget shortfalls in its preparations.
Among other things, she said the amount would be used to train election polling officers for the 20,000 polling stations countrywide.
Also, she said the US Government, through USAID, is providing over $200,000 worth of computers and equipment to be installed with Internet connectivity at the EC’s headquarters and regional offices.
Ms Robinson made it clear that the US Government does not favour any political party or candidates. However, she believes that a transparent and smooth electoral process is vital to any democratic process, thus America’s continued support to the EC.
Mr Victor Selormey, on his part, said the US Government has, since 1994, provided various assistance under the Strategic Grant Agreement on the Support for the Electoral Process (STEP) project under which the agreement was signed.
Under the project, the USAID would provide funds to strengthen the country’s democratic process.
He thanked the US Government for her continued support, adding that the current agreement brings to $8.2 million, the total assistance received from the US Government in support of the country’s electoral process.
The Director of USAID, Dr Frank Young, expressed appreciation to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for assisting the donor community in their effort to support Ghana’s electoral process by providing a mechanism to manage the resources of Electoral Trust Fund.
