The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has refuted claims in a media report regarding its recent Mission on Pre-Election Fact-Finding to Ghana.

On July 23, 2024, the ECOWAS Commission sent the pre-election fact-finding mission to Ghana ahead of its election on December 7, 2024.

An article published on August 21, 2024, suggested that the ECOWAS mission had predicted violence in the upcoming Ghanaian elections, a claim that the regional body has denied.

However, in an official statement released on Wednesday, the ECOWAS commission described the report as dishonest.

It stressed that the mission’s findings are confidential and are only shared with the President of the ECOWAS commission for further engagement with member states.

“The attention of the commission of the Economic Community of West African States has been drawn to a sensational article by The Herald tabloid of August 21, 2024 purported to capture ‘a draft statement’ on the findings of its recent Pre-Election Fact-Finding Mission to Ghana under the crudely misleading banner ‘ECOWAS Mission predicts violence at Ghana’s 2024 polls.’

“The commission categorically denounces the tabloid’s dishonest reportage. To educate The Herald, ECOWAS pre-electoral missions do not issue statements on their findings.