Accra, Ghana//-The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) today announced that it would deploy 4000 observers to observe Ghana’s December 7th presidential and parliamentary elections. This is the highest number of observers to be deployed by CODEO and any other local and international observer group in any election in the country.
The Co-Chair of the CODEO Advisory Board, Mrs Elizabeth Villars, who announced this at the launch of 2024 Elections Day Observation and Post-Election Activities in Accra, said: “We at CODEO are making the necessary preparations and all that we can to support our country’s political processes. Towards this end, we have planned to deploy 4,000 polling stationary observers on election day, December 7, 20204”.
These observers, according to her, would observe the conduct of the polls from the opening to voting, counting and declaration of results at selected polling stations. Therefore, 4,000 observers would assist in gathering information about the conduct of the polls and help make independent assessments of the processes and outcomes.
As part of CODEO’s preparations to deploy these observers, it recruited 31 regional coordinators from across the 16 regions to help manage the election day deployment. These coordinators are going to be taken through a rigorous three-day training aimed at equipping them for the task ahead, Mrs Villars added.
“After receiving training, they will also be assisting the Secretariat to recruit and train 276 constituency supervisors, who will then also assist with the recruitment and training of polling station observers.
A significant component of our observation efforts is the Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) (there will be a separate presentation on that), PVT serves as a powerful citizens’ tool for monitoring the conduct of polling on Election Day and verifying.
The official presidential results announced by Election Management Bodies (EMBs)”.
On Election Day, Mrs Villars reminded participants at a well-attended gathering that observers would report on the number of votes counted at polling stations, and CODEO would aggregate this data to estimate election results, acting as a crucial check on the accuracy of the Electoral Commission’s officially declared presidential results.
Furthermore, PVT enables real-time data transmission via SMS text messaging to a central database, ensuring timely and accurate reporting. This innovative approach strengthens our role as a monitoring body and enhances transparency in the electoral process, she said.
Post-Election Activities
“Since election-related developments will not be ending on December 7, CODEO will be keeping its eyes on the ground in the days and weeks following the casting of ballots and announcement of results. CODEO will deploy 20 observers to a
purposively-sampled set of constituencies to monitor post-election developments.
Where necessary, CODEO will be liaising with relevant actors such as the security agencies to promote post-election peace. As always, CODEO will be sharing its findings from this post-election observation with our stakeholders”.
To wind down our interventions for the election year, CODEO and other collaborators would convene a post-election review workshop to bring together election stakeholders to reflect on the conduct of the 2024 elections, with the view to drawing lessons, both positive and negative, to inform future elections, and to advance advocacy for needed electoral reforms, the Co-Chair noted.
Acknowledgement
“CODEO is grateful for the financial support from our esteemed partners, particularly the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has supported CODEO’s election observation activities since 2000.
This year’s support is through the National Democratic Institute (NDI), and we are grateful. Also, we are grateful to the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands, who supported us in the past and are supporting CODEO again. Additionally, we want to thank the Foreign and Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK government and the European Union (EU) for continuous support as well”.
In remarks before performing the launch, the African Union’s High Representative for Silencing the Guns, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, appealed to Ghanaians, especially the political parties, to ensure that there is peace before, during and after the elections.
U.S Ambassador to Ghana
The U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Virginia E. Palmer, urged Ghanaians to come out in their numbers to cast their votes in the upcoming elections.
To this end, she said: “There is no greater right or responsibility for citizens in a democracy to exercise than that of voting. To protect that right and impose that responsibility, we must ensure that our elections are peaceful, transparent, and credible”.
This is because conducting credible elections is one of the many values that bind Ghana and the United States. Democracy is the heartbeat of our nations, the foundation on which our countries are built, she said.
H.E Palmer observed: “We see neighbours in West Africa struggling with democratic backsliding and coups. We see our adversaries attempting to divide and conquer by eroding public trust in our governments our democratic and electoral institutions.
We see extremists exploiting inequalities and injustices. In some places, we see attempts to silence voters or to spread disinformation. But in response to those myriad challenges, the solution is more nor less democracy, more nor less support for democratic institutions”.
No shortcut to good governance
There is no shortcut to good governance. Democracy – and elections – are messy, loud, and sometimes chaotic. But that’s how differences of opinion are resolved peacefully. Let us debate, disagree, and even argue. But then, let us cast our ballots peacefully in a transparent election process, the U.S. diplomat urged.
Sign the Peace Pact
H.E Palmer applaud the call for peaceful elections that many Ghanaians have already made and urged all political parties to sign the Peace Pact – as has happened for several election cycles running – as the strongest commitment to ensuring voters and Ghana are safe from election-related violence.
“I hope it will be signed by all parties as soon as possible. If the process of democracy is not smooth, seeking redress through the judiciary affords the strongest guarantees of justice, never violence”, she stated.
Support
This election year, as both our countries prepare for the most important day in the life of a democracy, the United States is proud to support Ghana’s electoral process through support to CODEO and other democratic institutions, the ambassador noted.
“We focus our assistance by providing expertise on the technical and procedural aspects of elections. For example, domestic observers are a critical means of ensuring transparent elections. U.S. technical support for CODEO’s election observation and parallel vote tabulation – or PVT – ensures that CODEO can provide a results snapshot throughout the voting day.
The United States has also supported the long-term observation of electoral processes – not just Election Day observation – to help CODEO and other stakeholders improve the procedures and initiate reforms where needed”.
The purpose of U.S. support is to strengthen Ghanaian expertise and leadership within democratic institutions. And to strengthen the entire democratic process, from voter education to registration to consensus building and conflict prevention.
Our support helps to facilitate inter-party dialogue through the National Peace Council, monitor election hotspots with the West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), educate voters through the Gender Center for Empowering Development (GenCED) and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), train candidates from marginalised communities, observe electoral processes through the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) and improve campaign finance through the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), H.E Palmer said.
The Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, H. E Jeroen Verheul, and UK High Commissioner to Ghana, H.E Mrs Harriet Thompson, on behalf of their respective countries, pledged to continue to support Ghana’s democracy.
In his welcome address, the National Coordinator of CODEO, Albert Arhin, said: “Over the past 24 years, CODEO has played an important role in promoting electoral integrity through various interventions, particularly election observation.
As we approach the December polls, CODEO, with the support of partners, is committed to safeguarding electoral credibility in the country”.