US Special Envoy for the Sahel Region of Africa, Dr Peter Pham, has condemned the pockets of violence that has marred the nation’s generally peaceful 2020 general elections.
Speaking to norvanreports via zoom on Ghana’s 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, Dr Pham stated the US regrets and condemns all election-related violence in the country, urging persons dissatisfied with the outcome of the election results to settle disputes following laid down legal structures in the country.
Dr Pham however, noted the US is happy with the generally peaceful manner the election was carried out.
Well, several things. One, first of all, we’re very gratified that the Ghanaian people largely and peacefully have engaged in a very robust and energetic campaign. That’s a model for the region. We regret and condemn all acts of violence and intimidation of citizens, and we call upon those who may have disputes in the – of the election results or specific – to settle their disputes following the legal structures that exist under the Ghanaian constitution and the laws of the Republic of Ghana, he stated.
Ghana has a very proud tradition, one which we salute, of razor-thin elections, of closely fought contests, but also of peaceful transitions. I remember, thinking back more than a decade, the elections at the end of 2008, where it came down to one constituency voting that would determine the nation, and that happening just a few days before the transition, and yet it all happened very peacefully, the transition between President Kufuor and the late President John Atta Mills. That – again, very peacefully done and I think it was something really a model for the region. And so that’s why I’m going to Ghana later today; it’s to herald the success and to reinforce our strong relationship with Ghana both as a bilateral basis and as a regional leader, he added.
The EC chaired by Mrs Jean Adukwei Mensa, on December 9, 2020, declared incumbent President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as winner and president-elect of the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
President Akufo-Addo won by a total of 6,730,413 votes, representing 51.3 per cent of total votes cast whereas is his opponent, former President John Dramani Mahama polled 6,214,889 votes being 47.36 per cent of total votes cast.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has however, rejected the results declared by the EC claiming vote tallies by the party indicate the NDC has won the presidential elections and majority seats in Parliament.
The NDC has further petitioned the nation’s apex court – the Supreme Court – on the outcome of the election.
Supporters of the NDC have also on several occasions thronged to the EC’s headquarters to demand for an annulment of the declaration of President Akufo-Addo as winner and president-elect of the presidential election.
Their demand for the annulment of the election results has also come along with some attendant pockets of violence. At least 5 people have so far lost lives in the December 2020 elections.
Meanwhile, Dr Pham has been appointed by President Donald Trump to lead the U.S. delegation to the swearing-in of President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo on January 7, 2021, in Accra.
He will be joined by the US Ambassador to Ghana, Stephanie S. Sullivan.
Dr Pham was appointed the first-ever United States Special Envoy for the Sahel Region of Africa on March 1, 2020. President Trump accorded him the personal rank of Ambassador on September 29, 2020.
Ambassador Pham is responsible for coordinating America’s engagement with international and regional partners, including the G5 Sahel and ECOWAS member states, to address the threat from Violent Extremist Organizations (VEOs) and prevent the VEO threat from impacting additional areas, as well as supporting the implementation of the Algiers Accord and regional efforts to stabilize the tri-border region of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
