Citizens deployed to monitor campaign spending, abuse of incumbency in northern sector

Eighteen Election Monitors have completed a two-day training to equip them with the skills to observe and document campaign financing and the abuse of state resources during the 2024 elections in nine constituencies in the northern sector.The Election Monitors, from September until the December 2024 elections, would monitor campaign spending, abuse of incumbency and vote buying to aid a comprehensive political party and campaign financing reform in the country.This formed part of the Campaign Finance Monitoring and Abuse of State Resources in Ghana's 2024 Elections project, which seeks to address money issues in elections and the existing campaign finance framework in the country.The Ghana Integrity Initiative is implementing the project in partnership with the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition and the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, with funding from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.In all, 120 election monitors would be trained and deployed across the country to monitor suc h issues as part of the project.Mr Jacob Tetteh Ahuno, Programme and Research Officer, Ghana Integrity Initiative, who facilitated the training of the election monitors in Tamale before their deployment to the constituencies, said they were required to generate reliable and empirical evidence to support post-election reforms aimed at improving the country's Political Parties finance regulations.He emphasised that pre-election monitoring provided an opportunity to collect additional empirical data on campaign financing activities such as campaign expenditure, abuse of incumbency and vote buying to support a post-election multi-stakeholder advocacy towards reforms.He said the rising costs of political party and candidate campaign financing had significantly worsened over the past three decades.He said, 'In response, several civil society organisations focused on anti-corruption, electoral integrity, and governance, have been advocating for comprehensive reforms to the political party and campaign financ ing regulations in the country.'He called for intensified efforts by all stakeholders towards the promotion of campaign financing reforms in the country.Source: Ghana News Agency