Kumasi, Feb.11, GNA – Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in peace building have initiated a project to bring perpetrators of electoral violence to book and ensure justice for victims.
These are the “Post-election Accountability on Election Security Project and the Accounting for Recorded Violent Cases in Ghana 2020 Elections Project”.
The West Africa Network for Peace Building (WANAP) and the Centre for Democratic Governance (CDD) Ghana with support from the European Union initiated the projects.
They are to track the status of electoral violence cases in 2020 and increase advocacy for speedy resolution by the judiciary.
The initiative, which had been piloted in six regions in Ghana also seeks to engender public trust in the security and justice system, mitigate potential reprisal attacks in subsequent elections and strengthen Ghana’s democratic stability.
Mr Osei Baffour Frimpong, the WANEP Liaison Coordinator, Political Affairs, Peace and Security, said the increasing electoral violence threatened Ghana’s democratic stability and her status as a beacon of democracy in Africa.
Speaking at the 2020 electoral violence victims/families and stakeholders meeting in Kumasi, he said the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections recorded several violent incidents resulting in fatalities.
These included six deaths according to data generated from WANEP’s Electoral Violence Monitoring, Analysis and Mitigation.
The meeting formed an integral part of the process towards ensuring justice and accountability to the victims and families affected by the violence.
It provided a platform for them to tell their stories to aid investigations, contribute to psychological healing, and prevent future occurrences.
Mr Baffour Frimpong said a total of 125 election-related violence, including physical attacks, inter-party clashes, destruction of parties’ property and campaign materials by supporters were recorded between April and November 2020.
Again, a total of 12 incidents of violent communication through traditional and social media platforms were reported around the same period, which incited attacks against political opponents and heightened tensions in the elections.
He stressed the need for Ghanaians to embrace political tolerance, citing some neighboring countries that had serious issues because of intolerance towards political opponents.
“We do not want Ghana to follow that trend but rather take concrete measures to address the issue by engaging stakeholders on political tolerance for national cohesion.”
Nana Kwabena Aborampah Mensah, the Programmes Manager/Team Lead, Security Sector Governance at CDD-Ghana, said per the CDD-Ghana findings at the pilot regions, the 2020 elections recorded fewer violent incidents but major atrocities.
“In terms of numbers, comparing 2020 elections to the previous election, this is the election that we had very few numbers in terms of electoral related violence. They recorded more fatalities in this election as compared to the previous one.”
He explained that the six regions were selected in terms of the seriousness of the issues recorded, citing Nkrankwanta in the Dormaa West District as one area, which recorded one death, burning of a vehicle and some motor bicycles, and one person sustaining gunshot injuries.
The pilot regions were Bono, Bono-East, Ashanti, Northern, Greater Accra and Central.
Nana Aborampah Mensah said CDD-Ghana would discuss with the EU to see if the initiative could be extended, although they were planning to have other funds to continue the project in all regions in Ghana by the next election year.
He said the team was working with district directors of the National Commission for Civic Education to monitor, follow up and feed them with reports, which would be shared with the media to galvanise public support to push for justice for the victims.
GNA