The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) says it will deploy a 15-member team to the Assin North constituency to monitor Tuesday’s by-elections.
According to the coalition, this comprises 13 stationed officers and 2 roaming officers.
The coalition revealed in a statement on June 23, 2023, that it has been taking the 15 “non-partisan and professional” observers through the rudiments of elections as well as their rights and responsibilities.
“CODEO will deploy 13 Stationed Observers (SOs) to 13 polling stations within 12 electoral areas that were purposefully selected. There will be two Roaming Observers on election day, of whom one will observe the proceedings at the Collation Center. They will observe the polling station set-up, voting, and counting procedures and also file reports on any incidents they observe throughout the day. All CODEO observers will wear CODEO-branded jackets and have accreditation tags. They will report at the polling stations at 6:00 a.m. and stay until the end of the official declaration of the ballot count, either at the polling station or at the constituency collation center, as the case may be.”
While commending the EC for their collaboration, CODEO appealed to the commission, polling officials, returning officers, and presiding officers to ensure that all electoral rules and laws are applied to the latter to ensure peace, adding that the country’s electoral process is inherently fraught with challenges.
“CODEO appeals to the EC, polling officials, returning officers, and presiding officers to be firm and apply the electoral rules in an impartial and objective manner. We ask all the polling agents to respect the EC code of conduct and act responsibly on the polling day by assisting the EC officials to execute their duties effectively and efficiently,” the statement added.
The group further appealed to political parties, all contesting candidates, the media, and the voters in the constituency to be mindful of their utterances as they head to the polls.
On Sunday, the NPP and NDC held their final round of campaigning ahead of the voting exercise on Tuesday.
Although the election is expected to be closely contested between the two main parties, research group Global InfoAnalytics suggests the NPP is slightly ahead.
