We are prepared for second round - EU Observers

Accra, Dec. 9, GNA - The European Union Election Observer Mission (EU-EOM) to Ghana on Tuesday described the electoral process as transparent, open and competitive and said they were prepared for a second round, in the event of a run-off.

Two days after voting ended official results are yet to be declared, but Mr Nickolay Mladenov, head of the EU-EOM, said reports on voting, tabulation and aggregation of votes collated from 466 polling stations in 70 constituencies showed that the process was generally transparent and competitive. He said 97 per cent of the polling stations visited were rated "satisfactory" or "positive" on polling procedures, while 90 per cent scored "very good" on secrecy of vote.

"The competitive campaign and high degree of transparency on Election Day, reflect Ghana's democratic culture and we are committed to going the full nine yards in case there is a second round," he said. Mr Mladenov said the EU-EOM would give a more conclusive report after the Electoral Commission had officially announced the final results. He said whereas the long waiting for the announcement of the official final results could be emotional, it was imperative for political party leaders to remain calm but vigilant and the for the media to be even more professional and organised in their reportage in order to consolidate the gains made over the last two days.

Mr. Mladenov praised the judiciary for setting up Electoral Courts to deal with electoral disputes on a fast track basis and urged political parties and candidates to resort to the judiciary system in case of disputes. "We, however, acknowledge that the system is yet to be tested to see its effectiveness or otherwise in reality," he said.

Mr Mladenov said media coverage of campaign activities of the various political parties had been generally neutral but observed a slight tilt to the advantage of the incumbent, especially because of coverage for state activities performed by the sitting president and some public officials. He also pointed to some conflict of interest stemming from the involvement of sitting District Chief Executives' involvement in the electoral process whereas they remained public officials.

Mr. Mladenov praised the EC for being impartial but noted that it could have made better use of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) platform to better deal with issues raised by political parties. He also commended electoral officials at the polling stations for assisting disabled persons and the aged to cast their votes smoothly and also congratulated religions bodies for their huge peace campaign in the run-up to the elections.