Accra, Dec. 21, GNA - Government on Tuesday expressed its appreciation to the international donor community and development partners who contributed towards the success of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections on December 7.

A statement issued in Accra and signed by Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning said, "in helping to provide all the resources needed to finance this year's elections, the Government notes with deep appreciation the role of Ghana's development partners in helping to enhance the credibility of the elections."

" It deepened our democratic experience and sustained Ghana as an example of good governance on the African Continent. By all accounts, this support has helped to ensure free, fair and transparent elections."

The statement said some bilateral and multilateral partners worth mentioning for recognition were, Japan, Canada, Denmark, France, The Netherlands, United Kingdom (UK), United States of America, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

It said in total, development partners provided 9.5 million dollars about 86 billion cedis which represented about 40 per cent of the Electoral Commission's (EC) total requirements for the elections. The Government provided the remaining 60 per cent which was about 147 billion cedis with a pledge to provide any additional resources the EC might require for the mopping up to bring closure to the process.

The statement said, " the Government notes with utmost gratitude the collaborative support of the development partners in the procurement of ballot materials, voter awareness education programmes, media and civil society initiatives and political party capacity building programmes.

Others were the co-ordination and facilitation of both local and foreign observer groups and special support given to aspiring women candidates.