Introduction
On December 7, 2024, Ghana conducted its ninth presidential and parliamentary elections since returning to multiparty democracy in 1992. A total of 18.7 million registered voters were expected to vote across 40,648 polling stations in 276 constituencies spanning the country’s 16 regions. Fifteen political parties presented candidates for the presidential and parliamentary elections however for the presidential election, there were 12 presidential candidates (11 male and 1 female) of which for of them were independent candidates. Meanwhile, 801 parliamentary candidates contested seats in 276 constituencies. Of these figure, 119 female candidates, representing 14.9% of parliamentary candidates, and 682 male candidates, representing 85.1% of parliamentary candidates.
The 2024 Ghana Election Study and Observation Mission
Following accreditation by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC), Yiaga Africa deployed an Election Study and Observation Mission (ESOM) from 3rd – 10th December 2024 to understudy the electoral governance architecture in Ghana, with a specific interest in the election results management system. The mission also studied the role of electoral technology in the Ghana 2024 general elections and observed the trends and patterns of citizens’ participation. Yiaga Africa undertook the mission as part of its Transforming Electoral Governance in Africa initiative (TEGA) project to enable democratic societies and institutions to reimagine electoral governance through evidence-based learning, documentation and advocacy.
The mission observed the pre-election, election day and post-election processes and environment, including desk reviews, expert briefings, stakeholder meetings, press conferences and key informant interviews. Prior to the election, Yiaga Africa observed the pre-election environment and engaged with stakeholders especially the electoral commission, political parties and domestic election observer groups. On election day, Yiaga Africa deployed three teams to Greater Accra, Central and Volta regions to observe the election. The teams visited polling stations to observe the voter verification, voting and counting processes. The delegation also observed collation of results and interacted with domestic election observer groups.
The 12-person delegation led by Dr. Aisha Abdullahi (former, African Union Commissioner of Political Affairs), includes;
- Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli, Chairman, Nigerian Senate Committee on INEC and Electoral Matters, National Assembly
- Hon. Prince Adebayo Balogun, Chairman, Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, National Assembly
- Barr. Afam Osigwe SAN, President, Nigerian Bar Association
- Bonolo Magkale, Center for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa
- Mr. Majeed Bakare – Premium Times Newspaper
- Ijeoma Osamor – Broadcaster and TV anchor, African Independent Television (AIT)
- Samson Itodo, Executive Director, Yiaga Africa
- Olusegun Ogundare, African Head, Operations and Research
- Ibrahim Farouk, Africa Program Coordinator
- Gifty Quarshie – Program Assistant
