Obasanjo leads ECOWAS observers to Ghana

Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo is to lead a 250-member ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to Ghana.
The team, which was due to leave for Accra, Ghana on Thursday (yesterday), is expected to monitor the Ghana’s general elections scheduled to hold on December 7.
This was contained in a statement by the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja on Thursday.
According to the statement, the trip falls within the context of the region’s instrument for provision of support to member states holding elections.
The statement read, “The team, comprising representatives of various segments of the West African society is headed by Nigeria’s former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and supported by Prof. Amos Sawyer, former President of Liberia’s Interim Government and Chairman of the Governance Commission of Liberia as well as the AU High-Level Panel on the African Peer Review Mechanism.”
It added, “The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Kadré Désiré Ouédraogo, will also be in Ghana to provide additional support to the Mission and to express ECOWAS’ solidarity with the government and people of Ghana during the elections, which are expected to contribute to the deepening of democratic culture in the country.
“Accra will serve as the headquarters and situation room for the ECOWAS Mission, with three sub-stations in Kumasi, Tamale and Bolgatanga, from where the regional observers will be deployed in all the 10 administrative regions of Ghana to monitor the conduct of thepresidential and legislative elections.”
The ECOWAS statement noted that prior to their deployment, the ECOWAS observers would meet with political party leaders and other stakeholders in the country, with a view to ensuring a peaceful environment for the conduct of the polls.
It also recalled that an ECOWAS assessment mission was in Ghana last October to review preparations for the elections during which the mission interacted with various stakeholders, including representatives of political parties, security agencies, civil society organisations, the national electoral commission, and other stakeholders to discuss their perspectives on the preparations for the elections.