President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has pledged to work towards making Ghana the model for democratic governance in Africa.
Ghana, he pointed out, has often been touted as a beacon of democracy in Africa and this accolade that has won plaudits for her democratic credentials will be entrenched.
“We want to be seen as a positive influence in other African countries who continue to face challenges with democratic consolidation.
“Out of duty towards our children and grandchildren, we must not give up when it comes to guaranteeing the integrity of the electoral process and consolidating peace through the establishment of accurate electoral registers, the due validation of candidatures, the material organisations of ballots, and the proclamations of authentic results”, he added.
President Akufo-Addo stated these at the 2nd Kofi Annan Peace and Security Forum, held at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), on Wednesday.
He reaffirmed his belief in the principles of democratic accountability, which, according to him, forms the basis of good governance in Ghana.
“I will not make or cause to be made any substantial modification to the electoral laws in the last six months before the next election; and I will respect the two-term limit for the exercise of presidential authority, as stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
“I will not be an impediment to the conduct of free, fair and transparent elections; and I will hand over power to the next elected President on 7th January 2025”, President Akufo-Addo stated.
He noted that even though there are still challenges, Ghanaian democracy has been consolidated with the conduct of eight elections, five presidential transitions, three of which resulted in the peaceful transfer from one political party to another.
President Akufo-Addo gave assurance that he would continue to rally his fellow ECOWAS Heads of States to take the pledge, “and support them as they continue to work towards democracy and good governance in their respective countries”.
He also pledged to continue to respect the tenets of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
He expressed delight at Ghana’s candidature for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council for the years 2022-2023, which was successful, with the country garnering the highest number of votes on the day.
Ghana, he assured, will make sure that Africa’s voice is heard loud and clear in the deliberations of the Council, both on matters affecting the continent and on global issues.
“With the continent confronted by multiple threats to the territorial integrity of some of its states, and many of its civilian populations being put under serious threat.
“It will be our position on the Council that now is not the time for the Security Council to reduce its peacekeeping mandates on the continent. On the contrary, it should look to increasing them. We must not, on the global scale, be caught in a ‘penny wise, pound foolish’ scenario,” President Akufo-Addo added.
