Bishop Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, Chairman of the National Peace Council, has called for collective action to ensure that elections in Africa become instruments of peace, unity, and development, rather than sources of conflict and division. He made this appeal in Accra on Wednesday, September 23, during the keynote address at the Third Electoral Integrity Summit. The summit, organized by the African Election Observers Network (AfEONet), in partnership with the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and the West Africa Election Observers Network (WAEON), brought together election observers, civil society organizations, and democracy experts from across the continent.
The National Peace Council Chairman emphasized that electoral integrity should encompass the entire electoral cycle, including voter registration, campaign financing, civic education, media engagement, vote counting, and collation. He also stressed the need for peaceful dispute resolution and public acceptance of credible electoral outcomes. According to Bishop Fianu, although African countries have made significant democratic progress over the past three decades, electoral violence, misinformation, disinformation, and political intolerance continue to pose challenges to democratic consolidation.
Bishop Fianu expressed concern about the increasing commercialization of politics and called for stronger measures to regulate campaign financing. He warned that unregulated campaign financing could create unequal political opportunities, weaken accountability, and encourage vote-buying and corruption. The Chairman urged governments, political parties, civil society organizations, and citizens to collaborate to safeguard electoral integrity. He also acknowledged the contribution of technology to civic education, voter awareness, and election observation but cautioned against its potential to spread misinformation and undermine public confidence in elections.
Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, Executive Director of CDD-Ghana, noted that Ghana's reputation for democratic consolidation and peaceful political transitions should not lead to complacency. He identified political financing as a significant challenge to electoral integrity, citing the rising cost of political competition and lack of transparency in campaign financing. Prof. Prempeh also highlighted the potential for technology to undermine electoral processes, citing AI-generated disinformation and deepfakes as emerging threats.
Prof. Prempeh stressed the need for the protection of civic space, arguing that free media, independent civil society organizations, and citizen observers were essential to exposing financial and technological manipulation during elections. He emphasized that Africa's electoral integrity is only as strong as the civic space in which it is contested. Mr. Samuel Dottoh Kwaah, Director of Electoral Services at the Electoral Commission (EC), highlighted the importance of transparency and inclusion in building public trust in elections.
Mr. Kwaah noted that the Electoral Commission seeks to make every stage of the electoral process open to scrutiny, from voter registration to the declaration of results. He emphasized the need for sustained cooperation among electoral stakeholders to ensure that technological advancements and increased political participation translate into greater public confidence in electoral outcomes. The summit aimed to examine emerging threats to electoral integrity and explore practical solutions to promote peaceful and credible elections in Africa.
The discussions at the summit underscored the need for concerted efforts to address the challenges facing electoral integrity in Africa. The stakeholders emphasized the importance of protecting civic space, regulating campaign financing, and promoting responsible digital citizenship. The outcome of the summit is expected to contribute to the promotion of peaceful and credible elections in Africa, in line with the call by Bishop Fianu for elections to become instruments of peace, unity, and development.
Key points
- Bishop Emmanuel Kofi Fianu calls for concerted efforts to ensure African elections promote peace, unity, and development.
- The Third Electoral Integrity Summit highlights emerging threats to electoral integrity, including unregulated campaign financing and technological manipulation.
- Stakeholders emphasize the need for collaboration, civic space protection, and responsible digital citizenship to promote electoral integrity.
