ECOWAS Poll Observers to Monitor Ghana Vote

A group of poll observers from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is scheduled to arrive in Ghana’s capital, Accra Monday to monitor the December 7 general election. “ECOWAS is very much involved in trying to consolidate the democratic gains that we have made over the years in order to create the conducive environment for inward investment and for development, which is the core objective for ECOWAS,” said ECOWAS political director Abdel-Fatau Musah. “We are going into Ghana with a 250 strong observer mission to monitor the conduct of the election,” continued Musah. He added they will try to help resolve any challenges that might arise after the election.

The ECOWAS poll observers are scheduled to monitor the vote in all of Ghana’s 10 regions. For the past few years, Musah says, Ghana has demonstrated a shining example of democracy in Africa. “We need to build on that,” continued Musah, “and then to let Ghana and a few other countries like Sierra Leone, Cape Verde and even Nigeria to try to build a critical mass of best practices as far as electoral and democratic processes are concerned.”continued