The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) has warned that mistrust in the institutions designated to protect Ghana's democracy poses a significant threat to the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

This concern is supported by alarming new data from WANEP, which reveals widespread doubts regarding the credibility of the Electoral Commission and the Police.

Speaking at the JoyNews National Dialogue on Peace Beyond Election 2024, WANEP’s Regional Coordinator for Research and Capacity Building, Dr Festus Aubyn shed light on the early warning indicators revealed by this data.

“This is also due to some of the historical actors, and also some of the actions and inactions of the Electoral Commission, which has more or less engendered that kind of mistrust from the political actors within the electoral process. Part of it is the appointment that happened after the 2016 election, also some of the issues around the voter register.”

Meanwhile, the Peace Council has expressed optimism about resolving the deadlock between the Electoral Commission (EC) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) concerning the credibility of the voters register.

The Chairman of the Council, Reverend Dr Ernest Adu Gyamfi, is confident that a common ground can be reached by next week. He noted that progress has been made in discussions with both the EC and the NDC.

“We have some positive outcomes. We have engaged the EC and the NDC. We are hopeful that an agreeable method will be accepted in the near future—probably today, tomorrow, or the day after—for us to move forward. We are working behind the scenes and intend to come out by Monday at the latest. Looking at the variables, we believe we are on course. Our leaders, I believe, have good intentions for our country. What we need to do is create the environment for them to help.”