election observers

George Sarpong

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E
Focus Area(s)
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2
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Ashley McCants
Name
George Sarpong
Interviewee's Position
Executive Secretary
Interviewee's Organization
National Media Commission, Ghana
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Ghanaian
Town/City
Accra
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

George Sarpong explains the role of the National Media Commission in Ghana, and the role the media plays in elections in Ghana.  He goes into detail about the way media is employed by the political parties and the electoral management body, distinguishing between state-owned media and privately owned media in this process.  He also explains the role of the media in educating the public in terms of voter registration and how the media has been used to reach out to marginalized populations.  He explains how the media commission regulates negative campaigning, and he discusses the overall role of the commission.  Finally, he describes how election monitors are used and what their goals are in monitoring elections.
 
 
Profile

At the time of this interview, George Sarpong was the executive secretary of the National Media Commission in Ghana.  His extensive experience included involvement with media issues relating to elections through his capacity as the executive director of the Youth Network for Human Rights and Democracy, working with youth to increase capacity to participate in democratic discourse, and on issues to prevent violence in elections.  He served as a member of the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers, coordinating media activities, and consulted regularly on media, media monitoring, and governance issues for multiple organizations.  He also was involved in elections in Sierra Leona, Cameroon and Liberia.  

Full Audio File Size
44 MB
Full Audio Title
George Sarpong - Full Interview

Vincent Crabbe

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E
Focus Area(s)
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10
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Ashley McCants
Name
Vincent Crabbe
Interviewee's Position
Co-Chairman
Interviewee's Organization
Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), Ghana
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Ghanaian
Town/City
Accra
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

In this interview, Vincent Crabbe discusses his experience confronting the many challenges of ensuring transparency in the conduct of elections. One of the chief obstacles to transparent elections is the compilation of a reliable voter registry. For instance, in the absence of birth certificates and other forms of identification, he notes the difficulty of ascertaining whether a voter is of legal voting age. Other obstacles to compiling the lists include the fact that multiple individuals have the same name. Crabbe explains key reforms to Ghana’s elections process that he believes are transferrable to other countries, including see-through ballot boxes and counting ballots at polling stations to reduce the likelihood of tampering with while en route to counting centers. Finally, Crabbe sheds light on what he believes are the key attributes required for an electoral commissioner.   

Case Study:  Keeping the Peace in a Tense Election: Ghana, 2008

Profile

At the time of this interview, Vincent Crabbe was the co-chairman of the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers, which monitored all aspects of public elections in Ghana. Decades earlier, Crabbe established the country’s Electoral Commission. In 1968, he was appointed interim electoral commissioner. In this role, he oversaw the 1969 democratic elections that brought an end to military rule. Crabbe's status as interim electoral commissioner was equivalent to that of a judge on the Court of Appeals. He also served as the chairman of the Constituent Assembly for the drafting of Ghana's 1979 Constitution, as parliamentary counsel and constitutional adviser to the Ugandan government, and as director of the Commonwealth Secretariat Scheme for Legislative Draftsmen for the West, East, Southern and Central Africa Regions and the Caribbean Region. He also drafted the Guiding Principles for UNESCO in the field of Education, Scientific and Cultural Exchanges. He taught at the International Law Development Centre in Rome, Italy, and was a professor of legislative drafting at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados.

Full Audio File Size
82 MB
Full Audio Title
Vincet Crabbe - Full Interview

Thomas Du

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D
Focus Area(s)
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1
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Nealin Parker
Name
Thomas Du
Interviewee's Position
Senior Program Officer
Interviewee's Organization
National Democratic Institute, Liberia
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Liberian
Town/City
Monrovia
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Thomas Du, senior program officer at the National Democratic Institute in Liberia, explains his organization’s charge to facilitate the country’s transition to democracy by working closely with civil society and by engaging constructively with the government. Du recounts the history of party politics in Liberia, highlighting the racial divisions between dark-skinned natives and lighter-skinned repatriated American settlers, long periods of military rule and rigged elections. Parties proliferated as vehicles for individuals to attain power rather than on ideological grounds while significant portions of the population like youth, illiterates, and unskilled workers were neglected. Du explains the National Election Commission’s choice to be inclusive rather than strict in enforcing all electoral rules that would bar some people and parties from the process. He discusses the weak role of the media in the country and the difficulty of getting appropriate materials to illiterate voters. He touches on some different motivations that may have affected voters’ choices in the 2005 election as they determined what kind of leader they wanted to steer them through the democratic transition safely. Du emphasizes the importance of opening up the process by allowing multiple parties and media sources access to the political arena, while avoiding crowding the field with too many parties or news sources. He endorses developing and implementing rules for interparty competition, defining the roles of different stakeholders, and finding a way for parties to effectively disseminate their ideas to voters. Du analyzes election monitoring in the 2005 election and champions domestic monitoring of elections throughout the full election cycle to establish ownership of the process.  Looking toward future elections, he calls for the involvement of youth and women in civic culture and the cultivation of future leaders.
 
Profile
At the time of this interview, Thomas Du was the senior program officer at the National Democratic Institute in Liberia. His work at the institute supported the development of civil service infrastructure to assist in building democratic institutions in Liberia. He also studied the successes and failures of these techniques as a means of improvement.
Full Audio File Size
81 MB
Full Audio Title
Thomas Du - Full Interview