General News of Monday, 3 December 2012

Source: radioxyzonline.com

Ghana's polls will be credible and peaceful - Obasanjo

Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has stated that he is confident that Ghana's election would be peaceful, credible and successful.

He made the comments as he arrived in Ghana to lead a 250-member ECOWAS Election Observers Mission to monitor the Presidential and Parliamentary elections due on 7 December.

Addressing Journalists at the Airport, he said Ghana has a “reputation and tradition” of conducting credible and peaceful elections, adding that he is very optimistic that this year’s polls would also be very successful.

General Obasanjo added that the mission’s presence in Ghana is just to provide support to ensure that the elections go on smoothly.??

The 250-member team would have representatives from the different West African countries.

The observers are also expected to meet with political party leaders and other stakeholders in the country to ensure a peaceful environment for the conduct of the polls.

The observers would have Accra as the headquarters and Situation Room for the mission, with three sub-stations in Kumasi, Tamale and Bolgatanga.

The regional observers would be deployed to all the ten administrative regions of Ghana to monitor the conduct of the presidential and legislative elections.

The elections in Ghana follow the successful polls in Sierra Leone, which were also observed by ECOWAS.

The sub-region seeks through the Election Observation Missions to promote a culture of transparent and credible elections, consistent with best practises for the enhancement of good governance, regional peace and stability.