The European Union (EU) Election Expert Mission has praised Ghana for the peaceful and credible conduct of its 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, describing the overall electoral process and outcome as “positive” in its final report.

Irchad Ramiandrasoa Razaaly, EU Ambassador to Ghana, presented the report to Mrs Jean Adukwei Mensa, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), on Tuesday evening in Accra.

Quoting from the report, the result of two months’ work, Ambassador Razaaly said, “The presidential and parliamentary elections were competitive, well-conducted, with a generally peaceful and inclusive campaign.”

“The election met most regional and international obligations for elections. Civil and political rights, including freedoms of association, assembly, movement and speech and right to vote, essential for inclusive, competitive elections, were provided,” he stated.

Ambassador Razaaly commended the government and people of Ghana for deepening the country’s democratic credentials through peaceful polls, despite some challenges, and highlighted the EC’s openness and transparency as key to the success of the 2024 elections.

“We have spoken with and met with a lot of your peers from other African countries, and I must say, the overall conduct of the election has been inspiring to a lot of African brothers,” he said.

Ambassador Razaaly encouraged other African countries to learn from Ghana’s example of conducting peaceful, free, fair, and transparent elections and urged the EC to open its doors for knowledge and experience sharing.

He described Ghana as a country where people freely expressed dissent, opinions, and assessments of the government.

“Going to the Makola market, Korle-Bu, and Chorkor and most of the people we interact with say, we like this, and we don’t want to change this. We have our disagreement, we might be frustrated because of ABC, but this democracy, we want to save,” he said.

Ambassador Razaaly also noted progress made on the EU’s 2020 recommendations, including the role of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the absence of legal barriers to women’s participation.

On areas for improvement, he recommended strengthening identity checks for new registrants, reviewing the guarantor system, regulating campaign financing and the use of public funds, and intensifying efforts to combat misinformation and disinformation.

“The EC should continue efforts to further improve adherence to the procedures for ballot reconciliation and accurate and timely collation of results at the constituency and regional levels, building on the improvements noted for these elections,” he added.

In response, Mrs. Mensa pledged the Commission’s commitment to using the report for the benefit of all Ghanaians.

“We intend to use both the technical aspects, what has gone on well, and where we need to improve,” she said.

She acknowledged that the report accurately reflected the realities on the ground and reaffirmed the EC’s dedication to daily improvements in Ghana’s electoral processes.

Mrs. Mensa stressed the need to enhance public education and stakeholder engagement ahead of future elections to promote transparency and fairness.

She called for a national dialogue to support legislation on campaign financing, improve electoral governance, and ensure effective use of public funds.

Describing the EC’s collaboration with the EU Election Expert Mission as fruitful, she expressed optimism for an even stronger partnership in the 2028 elections.