Dr Kevin Casas-Zamora, Secretary-General of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International Idea), has advised the Electoral Commission (EC) to prepare for tougher information environment ahead of the 2024 General Election.
He said globally, disinformation was threatening democracies (elections) and urged the EC to develop effective communication strategy to fight truth decay before, during and after the presidential and parliamentary elections.
Dr Casas-Zamora said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of a national seminar on disinformation and democracy hosted by the Ministry of Information in Accra.
He described Ghana as a good example of democracy in Africa and charged the EC to work with all stakeholders to counter disinformation because what happened in Ghana was of great importance to others beyond its borders.
He noted that disinformation campaigns were fueling the “epidemic of unconstitutional transfer of power” in fragile democracies across the sub-region.
Dr Casas-Zamora said the campaigns were feeding on the dissatisfaction of burgeoning young population and geopolitical competition on the continent and called for the strengthening of weak bricks of democratic construction.
He advised countries on the continent to redefine political systems to protect civil and political rights while providing social and economic rights.
Dr Casas-Zamora said Ghana and a few other countries on the continent were doing well on core elements of democracy-participation and representation-but needed to do more to sustain gains made for rapid socio-economic development.
He said to sustain democracy on the continent, ECOWAS and other regional bodies must be strengthened and empowered to enforce clauses that promoted democracy.
Dr Casas-Zamora said those bodies were creations of sovereign countries hence have the power and mandate to help fix fragile democracies.
Mrs Jean Mensah, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, called for a framework to guide the use of social media during the elections.
She said that would reduce the threats of mis/disinformation and ensure the integrity of the process.
Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister for Information, called for responsible journalism before, during and after the elections.
International Idea is an inter-governmental organization with a unique and exclusive mandate to support democracy around the world.
It has 34 Member States, including Ghana, which joined in 2008.
Ghana is vice-chair of the Council of Member States.
