Upper East: NDDI impressed with peaceful conduct of Presidential and Parliamentary elections

The Executive Director of the NDDI who also doubled as the Head of the NDDI Election Observer Team in charge of the Upper East Region, Mr Mustapha Sanah (Standing Left ) at Zamse Sec/Tech Polling Station in Bolgatanga

The Northern Development Democratic Institute (NDDI), a Tamale-based policy think-tank, said it is so far impressed with the peaceful commencement of the voting exercise of the Presidential and Parliamentary election at various polling stations across the five Northern regions.

Speaking to some journalists in Bolgatanga, the regional capital of Upper East Region on Monday, after touring some of the polling stations in the region, the Executive Director of the NDDI who also doubled as the Head of the NDDI Election Observer Team in charge of the Upper East Region, Mr. Mustapha Sanah, indicated that so far his outfit monitoring many of the polling stations in the region confirmed that the exercise was being conducted without any major hitches.

‘’So far the take-off is good and I am happy almost all the polling stations within the Bolgatanga area started well at 7am peaceful without any major problem ‘’, the Head of the NDDI Election Observer Team stated.

He disclosed that reports from NDDI Observer Teams from the remaining four regions of the North including Northern, Savannah, North East, and Upper West Regions also indicated the exercise was being conducted peacefully in those areas.

While commending the stakeholders in the election particularly the electorates, political parties, Civil Society Organizations, the Media, Traditional and religious leaders for contributing to the good news, Mr. Sanah, impressed upon all Ghanaians to sustain and maintain the tempo till the completion of the voting process.

He stated that apart from the NDDI as part of its efforts towards ensuring peaceful election it had deployed 100-man Observers in the five Northern regions including the Northern, Savannah, North East, Upper East, and Upper West Regions.

’ NDDI is on the ground in about 98% of the 57 constituencies in the Northern regions. I am therefore encouraging citizens who have not yet voted to turn out in your numbers to vote’’, he stressed.

Mr. Sanah who also visited the Regional Police Command and the Regional EC Directorate to interact with the heads indicated that technology has made every citizen a potential journalist and therefore encouraged people to show interest in the elections to support the EC to produce credible elections.