Mr. Albert Dwumfour, President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), has commended Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, for his exemplary conduct following the 2024 presidential election.
Speaking at the final press conference on media coverage of the election on December 10, 2024, organised by the Media Coalition in partnership with GJA, GIBA, PRINPAG, and NMA, Mr. Dwumfour lauded Dr. Bawumia for his statesmanship.
“Once again, we applaud Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for demonstrating maturity and statesmanship by conceding defeat and congratulating former President John Mahama even before the Electoral Commission officially declared the results. This is indeed commendable,” he stated.
Mr. Dwumfour called on political leaders, especially from the NPP and NDC, to encourage their supporters to act responsibly during this period. He urged election winners to celebrate with moderation and advised losers to remain calm, even in the face of provocation.
“We encourage the winners to be magnanimous in their celebrations to avoid further aggravating the emotions of those who lost. Similarly, we urge the losers to take a cue from the maturity shown by Dr. Bawumia,” Mr. Dwumfour added.
The Media Coalition also expressed concern over incidents of vandalism reported in parts of the country. Some individuals have been destroying and looting state property following the election results. The Coalition condemned these acts, emphasising the financial burden they place on taxpayers.
“We cannot continue to waste taxpayers’ money by destroying state property, only to spend the same money repairing the damage,” the Coalition said, calling on the perpetrators to stop such acts immediately.
The press conference marked the conclusion of the coalition’s efforts to ensure fair and peaceful media coverage of the 2024 elections.