Ex-vice president Sambo heads ECOWAS mission to Ghana election

Nigeria’s former vice president Namadi Sambo will lead the 120 ECOWAS Observation Mission to Ghana’s Presidential and Parliamentary elections scheduled for 7 December 2024.

Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, said Wednesday that Sambo confirmed his acceptance during a visit to his Abuja residence on Tuesday by an ECOWAS delegation led by the ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray.

Touray briefed Sambo on the political developments in Ghana and the arrangements by the Commission to ensure that the ECOWAS observation team successfully carried out its mission in Ghana.

Sambo described his role as service to the community and recalled the success of the ECOWAS observation mission he led to the 2020 general elections in Niger Republic.

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He assured the president of the commission of his availability to work with the ECOWAS team and prayed for the peaceful conduct of the Ghana elections. Ahead of the elections, ECOWAS sent a fact-finding mission to Ghana on July 21-27 to assess the country’s preparedness for the crucial vote.

Incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo is not on the ballot this year having completed his constitutional allowed two terms.

Even so, there is political tension, particularly between the ruling NPP and the opposition NDC, the two political parties that have dominated political power in Ghana.

Ghana is currently operating a hung parliament with no political party enjoying the majority in the 275-seat legislature, resulting in the opposition NDC producing the speaker of the house.

Ghana with an estimated 34.4 million people has more than 18.7 million registered voters.

The country has 27 political parties, and the 7 December presidential race is featuring 39 candidates – 12 from political parties and 27 independents.

The NDC is fielding former President Joh Mahama, while the NPP has Akufo-Addo’s deputy Mahamudu Bawumia as its candidate.

Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission (EC) has informed the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) to replace its presidential nominee Madam Akua Donkor, who passed on recently.