ECOWAS mission denies predicting violence at Ghana’s upcoming 2024 polls

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has denied media publication that it has predicted violence at Ghana’s upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary election on December 7, 2024.  

Herald Newspaper in its August 21, 2024 reported that, it has captured a draft statement on the findings of ECOWAS Commission’s recent pre-election fact-finding mission to Ghana under the crudely misleading banner ‘ECOWAS Mission predict violence in Ghana’s 2024 polls’.  

But the Commission in a rejoinder published at its website has categorically denounced what it describe as the tabloid’s dishonest reportage. 

“To educate The Herald ECOWAS pre-electoral Mission do not issue statements on their findings and besides reports of such missions are confidential and meant only for the eyes of the President of the Commission to aid his engagement with the authorities in Member States in this instance, the preliminary report is still undergoing quality control”. 
 
“At no time before, during and after the Fact-Finding Mission has ECOWAS predicted violence in the election process. The Commission therefore finds it preposterous that The Herald would disingenuously repeat the standard operating procedures of the ECOWAS fact-finding mission twist issues that are in the public domain in Ghana and try to push its partisan conclusions into the mouth of ECOWAS”. 

And the ECOWAS Commission holds rightly holds Ghana in high esteem as a model of maturing democracy and tolerance on the continent and often cites the Country for emulation in the region.  
 
“The Commission therefore condemns any attempts by section of the media to misuse the name of the of ECOWAS in their vain attempts to sow discord among the over 32 million peace-loving people of Ghana through manipulation, partisan positions and veiled incitement to intolerance and violence, Ghana deserve better”, it added in its statement.  
The ECOWAS Commission reiterated its trust in the resilience of the democratic institutions in Ghana, adding that it will continue to accompany the government and people of Ghana to ones again deliver transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections in December 2024.