By Ewurabena Paha
Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu and Prof. Miranda Greenstreet Board have handed over the Advisory Board of the Coalition of Election Observers (CODEO), to Elizabeth Villas and Rev. Dr. Fred Deegbe as new Co-Chairs.
At a ceremony in Accra, the outgoing co-chairperson, Prof. Miranda Greenstreet, said matters of electoral credibility and transparency must be addressed in the upcoming district-level elections later this year. That way, election stakeholders like CODEO need to work effectively with the Electoral Commission for a successful 2024 general election.
Under the distinguished Stateswoman and Academic, Prof. Miranda Greenstreet, the late VCRAC Crabbe, and Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, the CODEO Advisory Board has worked with stakeholders over the years to ensure electoral success in Ghana and across the sub-region.
At a ceremony in Accra to hand over to the newly constituted Advisory Board, outgoing co-chair, Prof. Miranda Greenstreet, said free, fair, and transparent elections are not achieved through mere rhetoric but effective collaborations among critical stakeholders such as Observers.
Incoming co-Chairpersons, Mrs. Elizabeth Villars, Founder and Board Chairperson, Camelot Ghana Limited, and Rev. Dr. Fred Deegbe, Former President, of Ghana Baptist Convention, see their new responsibility as one which requires commitment and dedication and therefore pledged to offer their best.
The new Advisory Board of 12 has been increased to 25.
The members are Prof. Emmanuel Gyimah Boadi, Co-founder and current Board Chair, Afrobarometer Network; Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, Spokesperson, National Chief Imam; Eric Angel Carbonu, President, National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT); Kofi Bentum Quantson, Former Director, Bureau of National Investigations (BNI); Daphne Lariba Nabila, Executive Director, Legal Resource Centre; and Philipa Larsen, Former President, Ghana Association of Teachers (GNAT).
The rest are Albert Dwumfour, GJA President; Frank Beecham, Former President, Ghana Bar Association; Alexander Bankole Williams, National Sports Coordinator, Ghana Blind Union; Joyce Nyame, Programs Manager, Youth Bridge Foundation; Rev. Dr. Cyril Fayose, Senior Clergy Person, Evangelical Presbyterian (E.P.) Church, Ghana; Hamida Harrison, Convener, Women’s Manifesto Coalition; Marzuq Abubakar Azindow, Lecturer, University of Applied Management, Ghana; Edmond Acquaye, Public Relation Director, CLOGSAG; Alhaji Ahmed Suleman Anderson, Member, Public Interest and Accountability, Committee (PIAC); Apostle Emmanuel Tettey, Prof Takyiwaa Manuh, Emerita Professor, African Studies at the University of Ghana; Gifty Florence Anin Botwe, Commissioner of Police Retired; Nana Asantewaa Afadzinu, Executive Director, West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI); Perpetual Ofori Ampofo, President, Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA); Prof. Kwesi Prempeh, Executive Director, Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and Ambassador Francis Tsegah, Senior Fellow, Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana).