Accra, Aug. 12, GNA – Kandifo Institute, an economic, governance, and leadership think tank, has launched the Ghana Election Watch Project, which seeks to educate electorates through analyses of proposed plans and policies of candidates contesting the election.
It would also provide historical electoral data analyses to help electorates make informed decisions.
Primarily it would serve as a watchtower for enhancing accountability, transparency and credibility before, during and after the election and provide a platform where electorates could participate incredible opinion polls and share opinions through feature articles on the upcoming elections.
Mr Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, the Executive Director of Kandifo Institute, said: “Ghana Election Watch is a non-partisan project that seeks to educate electorates, especially the youth, about the history of elections in Ghana”.
He said the country had recorded several gains since its return to multi-party democracy in 1993 and matured from a fledgling democracy into a beacon of hope for many African countries.
Mr Boakye-Danquah, however, cautioned that those gains might be eroded if the discourse was not properly steered.
He said, for instance, proposed policies and their impact were often shelved by the major political parties, and the tendency to engage in personality cult wars as well as unnecessary agitations distracted the need to interrogate manifestos.
“In 2020, Ghana can further deepen its gains as it goes to the polls for the eighth time,” Mr Boakye-Danquah stated.
“This Project will continue to focus on keeping electorates educated and informed through the analysis of proposed plans and policies, electoral data to enable the electorate to make an informed decision on who to vote for on the Election Day.”
Dr Kodjo Mensah-Abrampa, the Director-General, National Development Planning Commission, and an Advisory Board Member of Kandifo Institute, chaired the launch and expressed the hope that the Election Watch Project would further improve Ghana’s democratic gains.
GNA