FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TO:ALL MEDIA HOUSES
DATE; 28TH NOVEMBER 2024.
The AEI agrees that the beautiful aspirations of the peace pact are what every democratic and patriotic Ghanaian wants but will remain as aspirations unless practical steps are enforced .
The African Electoral Institute acknowledges that the signing of peace pacts is a commendable initiative aimed at promoting peaceful elections. However, as almost all the candidates and candidate’s reps reiterated, we can not ignore the fact that such agreements do not guarantee peace without committed practical steps to realize it.
Past experiences, such as the negative incidents that transpired during the 2020 General elections despite the existence of a peace pact, have shown that peace pacts are not foolproof. The 2020 elections witnessed the killing of electorates in Techiman, which even the remedies prescribed by the high court has still not been executed. Furthermore, the enforcement of these pacts has been lacking, rendering them ineffective.
In light of these, we question the necessity of signing such pacts if they won’t bear real fruits. Instead, we emphasize the importance of constructive dialogue, transparency, and accountability, which was a common theme among all stakeholders at the signing ceremony, i.e., the Electoral Commission, political parties, independent candidates, security agencies, and the judiciary. AEI agrees all the statements at the singing but highlights the ones that point to the fact that these agencies bear greater responsibility that one can’t overlook.
At this point, the institute commends the election security task force for it’s proactiveness in recent times and for a concise security “blueprint” for the 2024 general elections and beyond. Since the IGP said this blueprint has been tested, using the recent bye-elections and even internal party elections (to the admiration of the political parties), we are urging them to make sure it works at this largest scale without any spirit of complacency.
These stakeholders must work together to ensure a peaceful and credible electoral process. Once again, we say to electoral stakeholders that Relying solely on peace pacts, which are often “ceremonial and don’t bite,” is insufficient.
We urge all stakeholders to prioritize these commitments:
- Constructive Dialogue: Engage in open and honest discussions to address concerns and build trust.
- Transparency: Ensure that all electoral processes are transparent, including the counting and announcement of results deviod of errors and multiple election results.
- Accountability: Hold all stakeholders accountable for their actions and ensure that any irregularities and security breaches addressed promptly.
By prioritizing these key commitments, we can ensure a peaceful and credible electoral process that reflects the will of the people.
-End-
SIGNED
Joshua Adjin-Tettey
Director of Communications and External Relations
0540904550
Engr. Judge Hasford Quartey
Deputy Director of Communications and External Relations.
0547510174
Ex. WO1 Alhaji Yussif Mahamah
Electoral Security Department
0243311965
About Us:
African Electoral Institute ( AEI) is a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) founded to deliver sustainable electoral solutions to Emerging and Developed Democracies to strengthen, augment, and build electoral stakeholders capacity and participation on electoral issues through electoral education on voter’s rights and freedom, electoral research, election monitoring, election observation, election results collation, election security awareness and training of polling agents and elections directors underscoring the fact that “elections are won at the polling stations’’ and the participation of all identifiable electoral stakeholders in an electoral process such as Political Parties, Governmental Institutions, underpinning transparency and accountability for a free, fair, and credible elections in Africa and the wider world.
We are on: africanelectoralinstitute.com
X: @AFRICANELECTORA
Lindedin: African_Electoral_ Institute
#ntegrityofChoice
