Charlotte Osei nominated for 2017 Chatham HousePrize

Ghana’s Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei, has

been shortlisted for the prestigious Chatham House Prize.

According to the Director of Chatham House, Dr. Robin Niblett CMG, the

nomination of Charlotte Osei was based on her admirable supervision of

Ghana’s peaceful and transparent electoral process in December 2016.

A statement from the organizers said, “The recent election consolidated

Ghana’s 24-year long democratic trajectory and was norm setting for

Africa, the Commonwealth and beyond; your tireless efforts throughout

2016 were central to this success.”

The awards event is organized by the Royal Institute of International Affairs

(Chatham House) of the United Kingdom to recognize individuals and

organizations deemed by Chatham House members to have made the

most significant contribution to the improvement of international relations in

the previous year.

Mrs. Osei is the only female and the only African to be nominated to the

shortlist for the 2017 Prize.

She has been nominated alongside Mr. Juan Manuel Santos, President of

Colombia, for formally ratifying a peace agreement with the FARC rebel

group and bringing an end to the war in Colombia; and Mr. Jens

Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO, for steering NATO through one of

the most complicated periods in its recent history.

Previous recipients of the Chatham House Prize include Campaigner and

Leader of the National League for Democracy, and former US Secretary,

former President of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor, former President of

Mozambique, Joaquim Chissano, former President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio

Lula da Silva, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese Democracy of State and

Democratic Presidential candidate in last November’s US elections, Mrs.

Hillary Clinton; and former US Secretary of State Mr. John Kerry.

The winner of the award will be announced at the end of April, 2017.

Charlotte Osei, who is Ghana’s first woman to chair the Commission, was

heavily criticized for some of the commission’s actions ahead of the polls in

December 2016, which was her first major assignment.

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