Ghana Poll: Goodluck Jonathan leads WAEF monitoring team

ACCRA, Ghana  — Delegates of the West African Elders Forum observation mission, led by former President Goodluck Jonathan, have arrived Accra, Ghana, ahead of the December 7 general election in the West African country.

Other members of the team were former Burkinabe Prime Minister and President of the ECOWAS, Mr Kadre Ouedraogo; Executive Director of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, Ms Ann Iyonu and the Special Adviser to Jonathan and head of Media and Communications, Ikechukwu Eze.

This was contained in a statement issued by the WAEF’s Communications Officer, Dickson Ominabo on Friday.

The statement quoted Jonathan as urging the Ghanaians to be patriotic and work for peaceful, free and transparent elections.

The former president also charged the Electoral Commission of Ghana and the security agencies to keep to their mandate of independence and neutrality to ensure a credible polling process.

He commended the people of Ghana for their enduring commitment to democratic values, adding that the nation’s history of peaceful political transitions served as a beacon for democratic governance across Africa.

“The upcoming elections present another opportunity for Ghanaians to reinforce their dedication to democracy, stability, and development.

“WAEF urges the Electoral Commission of Ghana to uphold its mandate of conducting free and fair elections and ensuring transparency and credibility of the 2024 elections as a way of building trust among the electorate and stakeholders.

“We encourage the security agencies to sustain their professional conduct, maintain their neutrality and a peaceful electoral environment by ensuring impartial deployment to safeguard voting materials, polling centres and citizens across the country.

“As we approach the end of campaign activities, we urge all political parties and their candidates to reaffirm their commitment to peaceful campaigns devoid of hate speech, inflammatory rhetoric, and personal attacks.”

Jonathan also called on political parties, candidates and all stakeholders to respect the integrity of the electoral process and pledge to resolve disputes through lawful and constitutional channels for peace.

He urged the youth and party supporters to remain law-abiding during and after the elections, avoiding acts of intimidation or violence.

Jonathan, who model Ghana as a democratic nation, urged the people to safeguard the legacy by rejecting violence, intimidation or actions that could undermine the integrity of the electoral process.

“By working together, Ghanaians can once again assert the country’s position as a model of democracy built on a tradition of peaceful, free, fair and transparent elections,” Jonathan said.