Ghana wins re-election bid for ITU Council seat

Ghana has successfully retained its seat on the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Council Seat, for Region D, Africa, getting a number of 123 votes from total votes cast, and placing 6 out of the 13 countries elected.

The highly contested election for Region D, Africa, was contested by 19 member states for 13 available seats on the ITU Council for the Africa Region D.

This follows a week of intense campaigning and lobbying among member states for the coveted Council Seats at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference being held in Dubai.

Expressing her joy over Ghana's victory, the Minister for Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said, this win was for all Ghanaians and that it would spur Ghana on to achieve more on its digitisation agenda.

The Minister, expressed her appreciation to member states who supported Ghana in its bid for re-election to the ITU Council.

In reference to her high level statement she delivered during the opening ceremony, she said, the re-election would also compliment the work of the President in pursuing the Digital Ghana Agenda for a massive transformation of the country’s economy through technology and broadband development, especially, as he is the Co-Chair of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocacy Group.

This is Ghana’s fifth election to the ITU Council and the benefits of this include being able to contribute towards the development of ICTs and play major roles in ensuring that appropriate ICT policies are developed. Elections to the ITU Council also gives an indication of Ghana’s performance in the ICT sector both at the national and international level.

About the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference and the ITU Council

The Plenipotentiary Conference is the highest decision-making body of ITU, the United Nations specialized agency for ICTs. Held every four years, the Conference is the key event at which ITU Member States build consensus on key international ICT issues, elect leaders for the Union's top posts, and decide on a roadmap for ITU's work over the next four-year period, including strategic and financial plans.

The ITU is governed by the Plenipotentiary Conference and the Administrative Council. The Plenipotentiary Conference is the supreme organ of the Union. It is the decision making body which determines the direction of the Union and its activities.

The Council, on the other hand, acts as the Union’s governing body in the interval between Plenipotentiary Conferences. Its role is to consider broad telecommunication policy issues to ensure that the Union's activities, policies and strategies fully respond to today's dynamic, rapidly changing telecommunications environment.