Mr David Asante, Convenor of the LMVCA, said this on Wednesday at a media briefing in Accra. He said Ghana has over the years earned the reputation of being “the beacon of democracy in Africa”. Mr Asante said the rest of the world was eagerly watching to see if that reputation could be maintained.

“Thankfully, we lived up to expectation and Ghana once more remains a shining star of democracy in Africa today,” he said. He said the LMVCA contributed to the success of the December 7th 2016 through a number of ways. “Following the 2013 Election Petition and the accompanying revelations of grievous irregularities in the electoral process, LMVCA played a front-line role to secure electoral reforms for more credible elections,” Mr Asantre said.

He said highlighting lapses in the electoral system, protesting to demand a new voters’ register and the EC constituting the VCRAC Crabbe Committee to probe into calls for a new voters’ register and streamline the electoral process, contributed to the success of election 2016. Mr Asante said the EC had a lot more to do in ensuring a credible electoral system and urged the EC to take note of all electoral lapses and correct them before Election 2020 arrives.

He commended the security services the media and all other organisations that contributed to the success of the poll. “To the outgoing president John Dramani Mahama who exhibited true statesmanship and graciously conceded defeat even before the declaration of the result by the EC, we say thank you for contributing to the further enhancement of Ghana’s democracy,” said Mr Asante.

He continued, “To the president elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, we congratulate you for the overwhelming victory, a victory well fought and well won.”