AU confident of peaceful elections in Ghana

The African Union (AU) is optimistic Ghana will hold a peaceful and successful general election this year.

While acknowledging that the contest will be intense and fierce, the AU remained “confident that Ghana will pull it off successfully since we have no doubts about the country’s credentials as far as elections are concerned,” the Deputy Chairperson of the AU, Mr Kwesi Quartey told the Daily Graphic in an interview.

He spoke to the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of a meeting organised by the Diaspora Africa Forum (DAF) under the auspices of the AU in Accra last Tuesday.

The meeting was to use the diaspora agenda as a vehicle to speed up economic acceleration and tourism revenue generation among AU member states.

The meeting also honoured Mr Quartey for the various roles he had played in getting many diaspora returnees attaining Ghanaian citizenship, as well as ensuring diasporan issues becoming a feature on the AU calendar.

Fair elections

Mr Quartey said Ghana was aware of its reputation in the conduct of fair elections and indicated that the AU was expecting the country to chalk another success.

He, however, stressed the need for the government to put in place the requisite measures to ensure that the December 2020 general election would promote democratic governance reflective of the country’s values of a peaceful democratic nation.

Security

While admitting that security during elections was of concern to the AU, Mr Quartey said the AU started issuing out security alerts to member states so that governments take the necessary steps to forestall election-related violence.

“We know the contest will be intense and fierce but the only way out is to have an election that is transparent so that even the loser will acknowledge they lost in a transparent manner,” Mr Quartey noted.

Mr Quartey said the negative consequences of elections on the continent would derail the AU’s Agenda 2063 which is aimed at promoting prosperity and the wellbeing for all citizens.

Ayawaso West

The violence that marred the January 31, 2019 parliamentary by-election in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, Mr Quartey stressed, ought to be an eye-opener for the government to address the problems it exposed.

“While we were saddened by those events, we believe the outcome will serve as a tool on which authorities could build their security preparedness programme,” Mr Quartey emphasised.

He remained optimistic that Ghana would once again organise a peaceful election worthy of emulation among AU member states.