Stakeholders must work to ensure there are no lingering questions about the legitimacy of an election- Akufo-Addo tells ECOWAS
President Akufo-Addo has told members of ECOWAS to ensure elections that are held in the sub region are free and fair, leaving no room for doubt about the authenticity of results declared.
Speaking to members of the ECOWAS Parliament at Winneba on Wednesday, President Akufo-Addo said free and fair elections will ensure a continuation of the generally peaceful democratic dispensation we have seen in the region.
“All stakeholders in the electoral process must work to ensure there are no lingering questions about the legitimacy of an election. There will always be winners and losers in an election. That is the system of government we in West Africa subscribe to.”
“It is painful enough to lose an election. I can testify to that but the pain should not come with the suspicion of having been cheated. The winners should be warmly congratulated and support extended to enable our many problems to be tackled. Winners will then have the peace of mind to serve the business of the people.”
Jean Mensa touts EC’s achievements in election 2020
The Chairperson for Ghana’s Electoral Commission, Mrs Jean Adukwei Mensa has described the 2020 general election as ‘historic’ in terms of the performance of her office despite the challenges that arose from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“To the glory of God, I am pleased to say that Ghana held an election in December 2020 that proved the story of elections in our sub-region can indeed be an inspiration.
“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!”
“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 characterized it.
“So orderly, so methodical, so calm were the polls on the 7th of December, 2020 that BBC could find no other way to describe our elections than boring.”
“Indeed, our elections of 2020 were solely financed by the government of Ghana. I am happy to note, that this reduced the cost of our election by 41% compared to 2016 notwithstanding inflation and price highs and the fact that we incurred additional cost owing to the COVID-19 protocols we deployed throughout the election.
“We cut the cost per voter from 13 dollars per head in 2016 to 7 dollars 70 cents per head at the time when the cost of elections is rising world over. Needless to say, these were no easy feat, it took the herculean effort of our entire team and the helping hand of the almighty God to establish these achievements. We were met with many challenges but we surmounted most of them and those we could not overcome we learnt from them”.
EC not responsible for deaths
Mrs Jean Adukwei Mensa also rejected blame for the 2020 election-related violence that claimed eight lives.
Jean Mensa said none of the violence that led to the deaths occurred at any of the EC’s polling stations.
“Sadly seven lives were lost and though this did not occur at our polling nor arise at 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,” Jean Mensa told members of the ECOWAS Parliament.