The Election Follow-up Mission (EFM) of the European Union (EU) has bemoaned the lack of legislative progress in the implementation of electoral legal reforms contained in the 2020 EU's recommendation and featured in the 2016 Election Observation Mission (EOM) report.
According to the Chief of the EFM, Mr Javier Nart, the recommendations had received no attention from the main political parties, including within Parliament, although the report was shared extensively with its leadership.
He further explained that failure to fully address the electoral legal reforms on issues such as political financing, including the misuse of state resources, and affirmative action could have a negative impact on democratic governance.
Mr Nart said these at a press conference in Accra yesterday where he shared with the media the assessment of progress made by key stakeholders towards the implementation of the EU's EOM recommendations in 2020.
He said that "at this stage, there appears to be some intent to, at least from the Electoral Commission, partially address six of the EU EOM's 18 recommendations, but necessary legal reforms remain unaddressed".
Additionally, Mr Nart stressed on the need to provide for appropriate oversight of media and digital communication during electoral campaign period.
The Chief Observer of the EU EOM noted that when recommendations went unnoticed and unaddressed for multiple electoral cycles, it put into question the value of the observation effort and the valuable work of the citizen observer.
As a way of ensuring a conducive environment for future elections, Mr Nart emphasised the need for political parties and he EC to adopt a collaborative and inclusive approach in facilitating constructive discussions to help mitigate potential tensions in the run-up to elections.
Mr Nart noted that the EFM would continue to support and work together with Ghanaian stakeholders who strived to strengthen its democracy, as it believed that the implementation of the recommendations could contribute to further enhance transparency, inclusiveness and credibility of elections.
The final report of the EFM would be published within a couple of months according to the Mr Nart.
