The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has partnered with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) to establish a West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS).
This is said to be a transnational democracy solidarity network expected to mobilize, coordinate, and leverage the collective power of pro democracy actors, resources, and opportunities in West Africa to address the erosion of democracy in the Sub-region.
CDD-Ghana made this known in a press release issued on March 29, 2022.
‘’The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) have entered into a new partnership to establish a transnational democracy solidarity network, to be known as West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network (“WADEMOS”).
‘’The purpose of the Network is to mobilize, coordinate, and leverage the collective power of prodemocracy actors, resources, and opportunities in West Africa, to address the erosion of democracy in the Sub-region. The Network, therefore, seeks to advance, defend, and reinvigorate democratic norms and reforms in the Sub-region,’’ it said.
The project is funded by SIDA and will be implemented in two phases over a three year period, the first phase will focus on the formation of the network and a joint Civil Society Organization strategy which will respond to democratic setback in the region.
During the first phase, CDD-Ghana will collaborate with Network Partners to organize convenings and programs to reflect on significant democracy milestones in the Sub-region such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocol on Democracy and Governance.
Phase II of the project will also focus on implementing the various components of the Strategy agreed with Network Partners in Phase I.
The Executive Director of CDD-Ghana, Prof. H. kwasi Prempeh said, “I am excited about this new CDD-Ghana-led initiative as it seeks to address the problem of democratic backsliding in West Africa’’.
‘’The project will be implemented through the mobilization and support of prodemocracy civil society and social movements in the region, as well as collective civil society engagement with regional bodies and national authorities to advance democracy and constitutionalism.”
CDD-Ghana expects a strengthened relationship with regional bodies to enforce compliance of protocols on democracy, good governance, among others.
‘’It is expected that by the end of the three-year period, there will be a strengthened WADEMOS relationship with regional bodies such as the ECOWAS, to enforce the compliance of protocols on democracy and good governance; strengthened cooperation and coordination amongst various CSOs in the region to champion the protection of democratic norms and values, and sustained activism by young people, women, voluntary groups and the creative industry to defend democracy, amongst others.
“These expectations are inextricably linked to the areas where SIDA’s work is most focused and contributes largely to their mandate for democracy, human rights, and gender equality,” said CDD-Ghana.
