The chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa, has described Ghana’s last general elections in 2020 as “historic” saying it has become a case study for most advanced democracies in the world.
Speaking at the opening of the high level meeting of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Winneba, Central Region on Wednesday (13 October), Mensa said: “I am pleased to say that Ghana held an election in December 2020 that prove the story of elections in our sub-region can indeed be an inspiration.”
She added: “That our story as West African states has been one that brings hope to our youth and light to the coming generations and that we can provide best practices the most advanced democracies of the world can learn from. Yes, we can!”
Historic polls
“I humbly refer to Ghana’s 2020 elections as historic for the transparency, the credibility, the cost-effectiveness, the high turn-out and the peaceful conduct that characterised it. So orderly, so methodical, so calm were the polls on 7 December 2020 that BBC could find no other way to describe our elections than boring,” the chair of the elections management body said.
On the election-related violence that claimed some lives, Mensa said the EC cannot be blamed because they happened outside its polling stations.
“Sadly, seven lives were lost and though this did not occur at our polling nor arise as misconduct on our part, one life lost is one too many. We are confident that our security agencies will share their investigations and recommendations for future learnings,” she said.
Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com
