By Benjamin Mensah
Accra, Dec 09, GNA-Ahead of the declaration of the results of the 2024 general elections in Ghana, the National Peace Council (NPC) jointly with the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) appealed the Ghanaian electorate to remain calm.
“As we await the official declaration of results by the Electoral Commission, the Election Situation Room (ESR) encourages all parties and their supporters to remain calm and uphold the rule of law to preserve the peace,” Rev Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, the Chairman of the NPC appealed.
Rev Dr Adu-Gyamfi, addressing a presser at an ESR, at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, in Accra, also entreated Ghanaians to celebrate victory in magnanimity, demonstrate patriotism and embrace the civic responsibility in the interest of social cohesion and national unity.
The NPC and the WANEP, on December 6, 2024, launched the ESR as an integral part of the Electoral Violence Monitoring, Analysis and Mitigation (E-MAM) project, which is supported by the European Union and the United States Agency for International Development, and with complementary funding from the Governments of Sweden, Austria and the United Kingdom.
The ESR is a coordinated election observation platform for the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections in Ghana, and the E-MAM is designed to mitigate election violence in 12 West African countries through National Early Warning Systems,
The Ghanaian electorate went to the polls on December 7, 2024, to elect a new a new president and members of Parliament, as then-incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo, who will have to complete his constitutional term limits on January 6, 2025, was ineligible for re-election.
Former President John Dramani Mahama, then presidential candidate of major opposition National Democratic Congress, the president elect, then in a commanding lead in the provisional results, through social media accepted, the concession of his main opponent, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The ESR of the NPC and WANEP commended Ghanaians for their patience in the electoral process
“We also applaud the efforts of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, the political parties and the National Election Security Taskforce, civil society organizations, women, youth groups and the media for their contribution towards the relatively peaceful presidential and parliamentary elections,” Rev Dr Adu-Gyamfi said.
He added: “We also express our appreciation to the international and domestic election observers for monitoring.
Meanwhile Rev. Dr Adu-Gyamfi, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, has called the leadership and followership of the political parties to remain calm as the nation goes through the period of transition of power.
GNA