In an official statement received by APA, ECOWAS refuted claims suggesting that it had “predicted violence” during Ghana’s upcoming 2024 elections. The regional organization emphasized that its pre-election missions do not publicly disclose their findings, and their reports are treated as strictly confidential.
“At no point before, during, or after the fact-finding mission did ECOWAS predict violence in the electoral process,” the Commission asserted. It deemed The Herald’s attempts to misrepresent its standard procedures and to draw partisan conclusions as “absurd.”
ECOWAS reiterated its high regard for Ghana, regarding it as “a model of maturing democracy and tolerance on the continent,” and strongly condemned any efforts to use its name to “sow discord” among the Ghanaian populace.
This denial comes as Ghana prepares for general elections scheduled for December 2024. Prominent candidates expected to participate include Mahamudu Bawumia, the current vice president representing the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), and John Dramani Mahama, former president and candidate from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the main opposition party. Other candidates include Alan Kyerematen, a former minister now leading the Movement for Change, and Nana Kwame Bediako, running as an independent.
“The ECOWAS Commission reaffirms its confidence in the resilience of Ghana’s democratic institutions,” the statement concluded, expressing the organization’s commitment to supporting the country in organizing “transparent, inclusive, and peaceful” elections in December 2024.
AC/fss/abj/APA