Ghana 2024: ECOWAS gives ex-Nigerian VP Sambo fresh appointment

Former Nigerian Vice President Namadi Sambo has been appointed to lead a 120-member ECOWAS Observation Mission for Ghana’s upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary elections, scheduled for December 7, 2024.

Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, announced Sambo’s acceptance following a visit from an ECOWAS delegation, which included ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray, to his residence in Abuja.

During the visit, Touray briefed Sambo on the political situation in Ghana and outlined the ECOWAS Commission’s plans to ensure the mission’s success.

Sambo, reflecting on his previous experience leading an ECOWAS mission during Niger’s 2020 elections, expressed his commitment to serving the region and pledged his support to the ECOWAS team for the peaceful conduct of the elections in Ghana.

Earlier in July, ECOWAS conducted a fact-finding mission in Ghana to evaluate the country’s preparedness for the elections.

As President Nana Akufo-Addo completes his final term, political tensions are rising, especially between the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Ghana’s dominant political parties.

With Ghana’s parliament evenly split, the 275-seat legislature sees no single party holding a majority, and the opposition NDC currently provides the Speaker of the House.

Ghana, home to approximately 34.4 million people, has over 18.7 million registered voters.

For the December election, 39 candidates are running for the presidency—12 from political parties and 27 as independents. The NDC is fielding former President John Mahama, while the NPP’s candidate is Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.

In a recent development, the Electoral Commission has requested that the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) nominate a new presidential candidate following the passing of its initial nominee, Madam Akua Donkor.