EU Election Observation Mission deploys 40 observers to Ghana

The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Ghana on Tuesday deployed 40 long-term observers (LTOs) across the country ahead of the December polls.

A statement by Marian Gabriel, the Mission’s Deputy Chief Observer and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the observers would meet local electoral officials, candidates, and representatives from political parties in each region, as well as civil society and the media.

He noted that to cover the country’s expanded number of regions, the EU had sent a larger contingent of LTOs in 2020 compared to 2016, with some teams doubling up in those regions with large populations.

On election day the statement said the mission would be supplemented across the country by some 30 locally recruited short-term observers, drawn from the diplomatic community.

This, it said would bring the number of EU observers on polling day to over 80, from EU member states as well as Canada, Norway, and Switzerland.

Mr Gabriel said all observers had tested negatively for COVID-19 before leaving their home country and again upon their arrival in Ghana.

As an extra precaution, the statement said the observers were tested again before their deployment.

The EU EOM, he said, was “strictly following all procedures and rules set by the Ghanaian authorities to protect the Ghanaian people and our observers.”

The statement said Mr Javier Nart, the EU EOM Chief Observer who is also a Member of the European Parliament from Spain, would issue a preliminary statement after the elections.

Also a final report, with recommendations for future elections, will be published later.

Source: GNA