Foreign delegation to assess Ghana’s pre-election environment

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) will field a joint delegation to assess preparations for Ghana’s December 7, 2016 general elections.

The delegation includes regional and election experts from North America and Africa.

Amongst them are Ambassador (retired) Johnnie Carson, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and NDI board member; Mike Avwenayeri Igini, former Resident Electoral Commissioner for Nigeria’s Cross River and Edo States; Oby Ezekwesili, Senior Advisor, Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative; Gabrielle Bardall, Scholar and Democracy Assistance Specialist for the Trudeau Foundation; Christopher Fomunyoh, Senior Associate and Regional Director for Central and West Africa, NDI; and John Tomaszewski, Regional Director for Africa, IRI.

The purpose of the mission is to support Ghana’s ability to deliver credible and peaceful elections in 2016.

The delegation while in Ghana will meet with members of the Electoral Commission, presidential candidates, political party leaders, Members of Parliament, civil society representatives and journalists, and will present its findings at a press conference in Accra on Friday, August 12.

“We look forward to open discussions that will help foster consensus building around concrete steps that should be taken to ensure a credible poll in December,” said Ambassador Johnnie Carson in a statement released in Accra on Monday.

The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

Over the past 25 years, NDI has conducted more than 150 election observation missions in 62 countries.