INEC Chair Mahmood Yakubu Lauds Ghana’s Peaceful Election Conduct

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has commended Ghana for the smooth and peaceful conduct of its 2024 presidential election.

The election, held on Saturday, December 7, 2024, saw former President John Mahama emerge as the winner after his main opponent, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat.

Speaking in a video shared on INEC’s social media platform, Yakubu, who monitored the election, praised Ghanaian politicians for their consistency in party affiliation, noting that it has contributed to the country’s democratic stability.

He also highlighted Ghana’s adoption of managing election results at the constituency level, a practice he said was inspired by Nigeria’s electoral system.

“Rarely in Ghana do you see people moving from one party to another with every general election. So, that is important.

“It provides stability. It also provides their supporters (with) stability. So, there are people who have supported political parties for many years. So, whether the party is in power or opposition, they stick to the political party.

“The second thing for me is the lesson that Ghana also learnt from Nigeria in the area of managing constituency election results. Until the last election in Ghana, all results come to the Electoral Commission’s headquarters in Accra; which is parliamentary and presidential.

“Although Ghana is not a federal system, they learnt from Nigeria where you have returning officers who announce results for parliamentary elections in the various constituencies around the country. Only the presidential election results come to Accra.

“In Nigeria, this is what we have done and they borrowed a leave from us, and this is the second time they are implementing that. That is why, as you can see, the declaration of the presidential election result was a lot faster than it used to be in the past.

“We are grateful that the election has gone very well. The process and its outcome so far have been commendable, and we continue to support our colleagues in Ghana’s Electoral Commission,”he added.