The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), a regional civil society organisation, in collaboration with the National Peace Council (NPC), has launched the Elections Situation Room (ESR) to monitor the December 7 polls.
It is a situational analysis platform to observe, report, analyse, facilitate responses to violent threats, voter corruption, compliance to electoral code, aims to contribute to mitigation of electoral violence through implementation of electoral violence prevention and mitigation mechanisms.
The project is a component of a broader project dubbed: ‘Electoral Violence Monitoring, Analysis and Mitigation’ funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented with support and assistance from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS).
The ESR, which would be operational for three days (December 6 to 8) will be collaborating with Joint Operations Centre of National Election Security Taskforce, as well as Situation Room of National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).
Reverend Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, the Chairman of the NPC, who launched the ESR, noted that WANEP and its partners had deployed 350 accredited observers in prioritised risk areas across the 16 regions.
He said the Central Coordinating Room was located in Accra, while three Satellite Situation Rooms were located in Kumasi, Tamale and Ho to support and assist response actions within the regions.
“The strategy for operational structure is informed by number of identified hotspots across 16 regions through WANEP National Early Warning System and requires proximity for quick turnover analysis and response to be provided by Satellite ESRs.
“The perceived communication gap between the Electoral Commission and the public on issues pertaining to the 13,997 exceptional list, 15,860 multiple list and 514 missing details of voters in the EC’s database, others are concerns of stakeholders about EC’s ability to declare the election results within 24 hours after close of polls and all stakeholders should be tolerant of electoral processes and of each other.
“True to ideas of peace and social cohesion, ESR is committed, dedicated and determined to observing ethics, integrity and transparency of electoral processes in order to contribute to prevention of violence and human rights violation, ESR will make public its preliminary statement on December 8, 2020 and general report at the end of electoral processes,” Rev. Dr Adu-Gyamfi disclosed. -GNA
