EU cautions Ghana against monetization of elections

The European Union (EU) Election Observer Mission (EOM) to Ghana's December 2016 general election has cautioned the country against monetization of its political process on Monday.

While the elections were competitive and campaign freedoms respected, the EOM urged that mechanisms be found to address the increasing monetization of the campaign, a lack of transparency in campaign financing the misuse of state resources and overt bias in state-owned media.

"An effective sanctioning mechanism against the misuse of such resources should be established and the EC's capacity to enforce provisions of the law on political and campaign financing should be enhanced. Further improving accuracy of the voter register would also be helpful," the EOM said in its final report on the December 2016 elections in Ghana.

In the report released on Monday, the mission however expressed satisfaction that the West African country had gone through a third successful transition of power from one ruling party to another, adding that this was a testament to the credibility of the country's electoral process and a credit to its political leaders and its people . Endit