EU’s Preliminary Statement of the 2020 elections: GTV, Uniiq FM, Daily Graphic, UTV, The Chronicle, Daily Guide favoured the NPP

Kandey Alhassan December 14, 2020 0

 

The Chief Observer for the European Union in Ghana “Javier Nart” in a press conference in Accra lists Media houses which largely showed biased in their coverage of 2020 election towards the New Patriotic Party and Nana Akuffo Addo Danquah, the president. 

The media reported freely on the elections in a polarized environment. State-owned GTV favoured the NPP in its election-related coverage.

 Furthermore, the ruling party and its presidential candidate benefited from extensive additional coverage on GTV, Uniiq FM and in the Daily Graphic through news and live broadcasts of government inaugurations. 

Various private media analysed by the EU EOM showed biased coverage in favour of the NPP (UTV, The Chronicle, and Daily Guide) or the NDC (Adom FM and Joy FM).

The 2020 elections were organised in an efficient and transparent manner, and voters participated freely. The elections were competitive, and contestants could campaign without hindrance. 

A few isolated violent incidents occurred, and numerous stakeholders expressed deep apprehensions about the possible use of vigilante groups by political parties. 

Unregulated political finance, misuse of state resources and numerous instances of vote-buying resulted in an unlevel playing field. 

Ghana’s vibrant and diverse media sector provided voters with sufficient information on both major competing parties and their candidates. However, state media favoured the ruling party and its presidential candidate who received extensive coverage at government inaugurations. 

The main opposition party frequently expressed a lack of confidence in the Electoral Commission, accusing it of partisanship and criticizing the timing of the new voter registration exercise, so close to elections and during a pandemic. 

However, the process was inclusive and resulted in a high number of registered voters, and the quality of the register was positively tested on Election Day.