‘Members of electoral bodies must undergo regular training’

The Regional Monitoring and Evaluation Co-ordinator of West Africa Network for Peace building, Mr Vincent Azumah, has urged members of electoral management bodies to undergo regular training and refreshment. 

That, he said, would enable the electoral bodies to be abreast of the rules and regulations of the electoral process to ensure that peace and stability prevailed in the country.

Mr Azumah made this known at the stakeholder’s briefing and experience-sharing workshop held on Thursday at the British Council auditorium in Accra.

The workshop was spearheaded by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), in collaboration with Open Society Initiative for West Africa and West Africa Network for Peace Building.

Before the general election, the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) trained election observers and deployed 4000 of them to monitor the elections nationwide.

Observers from ECOWAS Observer Mission led by former Nigerian President, General Olusegun Obasanjo, also monitored the elections. The mission noted the technical glitches caused by faulty biometric machines but added that it had not undermined the fairness and transparency of the election.

In a presentation made to indicate the electoral risks after monitoring the violence during the 2012 general election, a representative from the Kofi Annan International Peace-building Training Centre, Mr Ernest Ansah Lartey, explained that the monitoring project covered 40 selected constituencies across the 10 regions.

Mr Lartey clarified that the demarcation phases for the electoral period were assigned from the pre-election to the post-election period when the results were to be released.

He stressed that the limitation towards the creation of the 45 constituencies by the Electoral Commissioner affected a number of constituencies.

The constituencies included Bolgatanga (Central and East), Hohoe (adjoining Afadzato South), Cape Coast among others.

According to the training centre, risks experienced during the election included major risks such as physical harm, property damage, group clash, shooting incidents, use of intemperate language, and rumours.

Violence record for 2012 General Election

Mr Lartey indicated that a total of 416 incidents were recorded across 40 constituencies from  October 15, 2012 to  January 15, 2013, adding that  57.7 per cent of the incidents occurred in the pre-election period.

He disclosed that during the election period, 125 incidents, representing 30 per cent of the total incidents, were recorded, adding that Ashaiman constituencies  recorded the highest percentage in the Greater Accra Region.

“During the post-election period, 51 incidents were recorded in the Northern Region and Yapei/Kusawgu recorded the highest incidents followed by Wenchi and Offinso North in the Brong Ahafo Region,” Mr Lartey noted.

He recommended that moderate incidents should be regarded as accelerators of electoral violence,  and suggested targeted admonition and appeal as strategies to facilitate dialogue among political actors, to help minimise the occurrence and impact of electoral incidents.