Advertisement Banner
The African Union observer mission to the just concluded 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections in Ghana has adjudged the poll as peaceful, transparent and credible.
After an assessment of pre-election and Election Day activities in the West African country, the regional election monitoring team asserted that despite isolated pre-election incidents the election was conducted under peaceful environment.
In the preliminary communiqué released at the weekend, the AU observer mission team while acknowledging Ghana’s excellent democratic culture, however canvassed innovations in the political system.
For instance, the mission recommended that political parties should refrain from the use of vigilante groups and other personal security paraphernalia, stating that security agencies were capable of protecting political aspirants. This it noted would considerably reduce tension before election.
The Communiqué which was read by the head of the team, former Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba, further suggested that the National Peace Council should be institutionally strengthened and effectively decentralized to regions, district councils and if need be to the villages.
The AU had noted with concern that women participation in politics in the country was generally low. Out of 1,168 parliamentary candidates, only 136 were women, representing 11.7 percent, which was lower than the figure in the 2012 election and far below 30 percent regional and global thresholds for women involvement in politics.
The observer mission report stated, “The Electoral Commission was adequately prepared for the 2016 polls and adhered to the electoral challenge.”
Advertisement Banner
No comments:
Post a Comment