Ghana's election shinning example to Africa-says AU Observers

Story: Hannah Annor

Accra, Ghana-Dec. 9, 2008 -Ghana has distinguished herself in Africa by demonstrating that it is possible to run elections in the continent without violence, the African Union (AU) Observer Mission said on Tuesday.
It said Ghana's election was also a big relief to Africa after recent election violence in Kenya and Zimbabwe.
"Ghana has become a shining example at the time when Africa is passing through difficult times in efforts to consolidate democracy," Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, Head of the AU Observer Team, said at a news conference in Accra.
He said the team was impressed with the patience, resilience and high turnout by the Ghanaian electorate during the polls, which proved the country's political maturity.
Dr Salim said the voting process was conducted peacefully and orderly with much vigilance and enthusiasm from both voters and civil society.
He said Ghana's elections also showed the exercise of democracy without fear or favour, describing the process as most inspiring.
Dr Salim thanked Ghanaians and other observers who worked during the elections to help further consolidate the country's democracy.
Touching on the purported delay by the Electoral Commission (EC) in releasing certified results, Dr Salim urged Ghanaians to continue to exercise patience.
He said constitutional provisions indicated that the EC had 72 hours to declare the results and there was no cause for worry, since the EC had not exceeded its mandatory time.
Dr Salim also advised political parties to exercise restraint, have confidence in the EC and avoid declaring the results ahead of the EC.
Political parties, he said, must also learn to accept the election results when they are declared and respect the decision of the electorates.
The team also recommended to the EC to create additional polling stations in order to reduce the long queues during voting to manageable sizes.
On electoral materials, the team asked the EC to ensure that polling stations were well supplied with sufficient materials both for the conduct of the elections and for incidental purposes should voting and counting continue after night fall.
The team said essential voting materials such as booths should also be adaptable to the environment, such as the ability to withstand strong wind or rain.
On voter transfers, the team urged EC to improve on the process of transfers and to ensure that the transfer lists were available at all polling stations.
"The EC should consider listing the names alphabetically to ease reference," it added.
The team also called on the EC to constantly inform the public that it was the only statutory body to announce results.
Political parties should also be less intrusive at polling stations and in particular refrain from being involved with electoral officers in locating voter names in the voters’ register.
The team announced it would issue its full report on the elections soon.