Home » Data and Projects » Country Implementations Overview » Ghana
With USAID funding, IFES supported CSOs in Ghana to undertake election violence monitoring using the EVER methodology. IFES Elections Advisor Sue Palmer worked with the Center for Democratic Development in Ghana (CDD-Ghana) and the Institute for Policy Alternatives (IPA) in the adaptation of EVER materials for use in Ghana, and conducted training sessions for monitors. Monitors were deployed in nine constituencies within 3 regions of Ghana to document eyewitness accounts and media reports of electoral violence during election day, and pre- and post-election phases.
IPA deployed 13 monitors to nine constituencies as follows:
CDD-Ghana collaborated with other important entities involved in the electoral process with a view to ensuring peace and stability during the election process. CDD-Ghana and IPA were able to raise awareness of electoral violence through their work and documented important lessons for future EVER implementation, including methods of securing monitors, coordinating with other stakeholders, and importance of integration of conflict mitigation elements. Data from Ghana also confirms the key role that community leaders can play in mitigating violence.
Methodological points for Ghana: Because monitoring was only conducted in 9 constituencies, the Ghana data in the database represents hotspot data, not comprehensive country data. As the first form design we piloted, the Ghana Incident Form had fewer variables than the current format. We recoded Ghana data to fit within the new categories, using the forms and the narratives supplied by monitors to determine how to categorize variables in the newer, more detailed form.