by Linda Straker
- Attorney at Law Lady Anande Trotman among Commonwealth Observers for Ghana General Elections
- 7 December Ghana General Elections to elect next president and 276 legislators
- Trotman on Caribbean Women in Leadership Board of Directors
A Grenadian is among the Commonwealth Observers who will be observing the 7 December Ghana General Elections which will see approximately 18.8 million people casting votes to elect a president and 276 legislators.
This is the 9th such election since the West African nation transitioned to democratic rule in January 1993. While the Electoral Commission has qualified 12 candidates to be on the presidential ballot, in reality, the election is a race between the candidates of the country’s 2 rival parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
One of the observers is Attorney at Law Lady Anande Trotman, well known for her work in the area of human rights. Trotman is a member of the Board of Directors of the Caribbean Women in Leadership (CIWiL), a non-partisan and independent flagship networking organisation committed to advancing women’s transformational leadership, and increasing the numbers of women in leadership and decision-making in political and civic life in the Caribbean.
A news release from The Commonwealth said that the Commonwealth Observer Group is led by the former President of Botswana HE Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi. He is joined by Trotman and 15 other experts from across all regions of the Commonwealth, bringing a diverse range of experience in electoral management, law, civil society, politics, human rights, and the media. According to the news release, Trotman is a “former Attorney General and Chairperson, Commonwealth Caribbean Association of Integrity Commissions and Anti-Corruption Bodies.”
Commonwealth Observer Groups abide by the Commonwealth’s Revised Guidelines for the Conduct of Election Observation in Member Countries, which were adopted at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London in 2018. These rules stipulate that election observer groups are “independent, including of the Secretariat. Members of observer groups are invited by the Secretary-General to be a part of the team, and each member is invited in their personal capacity as an eminent Commonwealth citizen, not as a representative of any member country, government or political group.”
