By-Election Recorded No Significant Irregularity

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a public policy institute in Accra, has said that no significant irregularity was observed in the Fomena by-election.

Napa Abu Bonsra of the New Patriotic Party won the by-election that took place last Tuesday, January 23.

A statement signed by Mrs Jean Mensah, the Administrator of the Institute noted however that there was an isolated incident between New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC ) supporters after the declaration of the winner of the election.

It said to keep the public adequately informed about the Fomena by-election, the IEA deployed a three-member Pre-Election Assessment Team in the Fomena constituency before the by-election.

The same team was later constituted into an election observation group on the day of voting.

The statement said the IEA Group was able to cover all the 45 polling stations.

It said after careful collation and analysis of reports submitted by the observation Team, the IEA established that security was good. 'There were four to five policemen at each polling station, police patrol teams, including mounted patrol. They were later complemented by the military'.

The IEA congratulated Nana Bonsra for winning the by-election and the NDC and Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) candidates for actively contesting in the by election.

The IEA said it was satisfied that the Fomena by-election, on the whole, strengthened Ghana’s democracy.

It urged all parties to exercise greater control over their supporters before and during voting and to impress on them the need for civility decorous behaviour at all times.

The IEA also called for greater civic education by the EC, the NCCE and other governance NGOs on the provisions on PNDC Law 284, The IEA-facilitated Code of Conduct for Political Parties (2004) and other such subsidiary legislation governing electoral behaviour.

'This is to avoid the display of Party paraphernalia within 400 metres of polling centre (Methodist Primary-Ahenboano, Methodist Primary-Kusa and other Polling Centres) and other electoral misdemeanors that most presiding officers were not even aware of .'