The Women Election Situation Room Ghana (WESRG) has described Ghana’s 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections as largely peaceful and conducted in a conducive environment, despite a few isolated incidents.
Speaking at a final media briefing on Sunday, the Chairman of the WESRG, Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, praised Ghanaians for their patriotism and patience during the electoral process.
He noted that the voting process unfolded smoothly in most areas, adhering to the country’s electoral laws.
“The Electoral Commission (EC) prepared for the elections with a Voters Register of 18,774,159 registered voters, comprising 51.6 per cent females and 48.4 per cent males. 13 candidates contested the presidential election, while 801 candidates vied for parliamentary seats across the nation’s 40,976 polling stations,” he stated.
According to Rev. Dr Adu-Gyamfi, who is the Chairman of the National Peace Council, while most polling stations opened on time, 33.8 per cent experienced delays due to security, technical, and logistical challenges.
Despite these setbacks, he noted, the WESRG observers reported that 66.2 per cent of polling stations opened as scheduled, with EC officials adhering to all required procedures. Both male and female security personnel were visible at polling centres, ensuring a calm atmosphere.
Rev. Dr Adu-Gyamfi highlighted that 98.7 per cent of voters were successfully verified using the Biometric Verification Device (BVD) or manual methods.
He also emphasised the peaceful nature of the elections but acknowledged some incidents, including a shooting at Nyankpala in the Northern Region that claimed one life and left another injured.
Rev. Dr Adu-Gyamfi further commended the efforts of the EC, political parties, the National Election Security Taskforce
civil society groups, women’s and youth organisations, and the media for contributing to the relatively peaceful elections.
“Their collective work, according to the WESRG, underscored Ghana’s continued commitment to democracy, we will urged political parties to cooperate with the
EC and security forces to ensure the smooth completion of any outstanding collation processes,” he stressed.
He encouraged parties to maintain peace and advise their supporters to remain law-abiding during the post-election period.
Additionally, he applauded all stakeholders for their contributions to the elections and called for continued collaboration to ensure a seamless transition, saying, “Ghana’s 2024 elections, despite a few challenges, once again affirmed the nation’s reputation as a beacon of democracy in Africa.”
BY AGNES OPOKU
SARPONG
