Former Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Cross Rivers and Edo states, Mr. Mike Igini and a former Minister of Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili have been nominated among the panel of eminent world citizens that would assess the election process in Ghana, ahead of the country’s next general election.
Igini, an outspoken social commentator as well as Ezekwesili, currently leading the Bring Back Our Girls Campaign, were at the weekend named alongside the United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Ambassador Johnnie Carson and a team of other distinguished persons, selected by a joint panel of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI).
A statement on behalf of the IRI and NDI by Jacob Price, Program Associate, Africa Division at the IRI said that the two Nigerians and others would serve on the board of the Pre-election Assessment Mission
(PEAM) a select team that would meet with relevant stakeholders in Ghana “to assess the Country’s levels and extent of preparations for the coming General Elections.”
The statement also named other members of the select PEAM team as including IRI’s Country Director for Tanzania, Robina Namusisi, who was formerly the body’s Country Director for Nigeria; Chris Fomunyoh,
NDI’s Regional Director for Africa as well as a renowned academic and electoral assistance expert, Gabrille Bardall.
The statement read in part: “The visit of the team to Ghana signifies an increase in the tempo of preparation for Ghana’s coming General Election, the country has conducted several successful democratic
elections within the past two decades, with transitional elections in which parties have successfully handed over power while maintaining political stability.
“Such preparatory assessments help to evaluate the necessary steps that stakeholders are taking to sustain the democratic culture in the country as well as in the West African region.”
