Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma has released the Final Report of the Commonwealth Observer Group, which observed the 7 December 2012 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Ghana.

In issuing the report, he said: "The Commonwealth Observer Group found that the elections were credible and highlighted the role of the Electoral Commission.

“These were Ghana’s sixth elections since the restoration of multi-party democracy in 1992 and overall represented a positive development in the consolidation of democracy in the country. There are, though, still some areas for improvement, including the need to reduce tensions between parties and increasing the level of participation of women as candidates and elected representatives.”

In its Final Report, the Group offered a series of recommendations to help improve some technical aspects of the process and also the environment in which elections occur.

The Secretary-General stressed: “The Commonwealth stands ready to assist Ghana in further strengthening its democratic process.”