Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for West Africa and the Sahel and Head of UNOWAS

The special representative of the UN Secretary General for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas concluded his second fact-finding mission in Ghana, last June 17, 2016. He has called for credible, inclusive and peaceful elections.

I am optimistic that some misunderstandings and diverging interpretations about legal decisions will be fully clarified and resolved”, said the Diplomat at the end of his journey in Accra.

He said, in a press release, to have taken the opportunity to meet with the Electoral Commission, political party representatives, her Ladyship Chief Justice, the National peace council, the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers, Ghana’s international partners. Just to mention few and media representatives were not left aside.

I am very pleased with the outcomes of my various interactions, which have served to address specific concerns of the elections stakeholders as well as to discuss the steps which need to be taken in order to create the conditions for the successful conduct of credible, inclusive and peaceful elections”, he said.

According to Ibn Chambas, all national stakeholders, and especially the political parties and their supporaters, have to make use of the valuable existing mechanisms for dialogue and dispute resolution to bridge differences and minimize the potential for violence.

He said to be happy that Ghana has over the years, demonstrated exemplary conduct of elections with a proven track record of national ownership and managing peaceful transitions. “Once again, the international community has high expectations that the upcoming presidential and legislative elections will be conducted in a peaceful and credible manner, in line with this so well deserved reputation as a model for the region and beyond”, he stressed and concluded that the eyes of the world are fixed on Ghana.

Voltic Togo