{
  "id": 9700401,
  "title": "African states must strengthen safeguards against AI-driven electoral manipulation – Kwasi Prempeh",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/african-states-must-strengthen-safeguards-against-ai-driven-electoral",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-25T04:41:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/african-states-must-strengthen-safeguards-against-ai-driven-electoral-manipulation-kwasi-prempeh/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "African nations must bolster protections against AI-driven electoral manipulation, cautioned Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, Executive Director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana). Speaking at the opening of the Third Electoral Integrity Summit in Accra, Prempeh emphasized that while technology has enhanced election transparency, it is also being abused to erode public trust and influence electoral outcomes. \"The question is not whether we adopt these technologies, but under what safeguards and who is accountable when they cause harm,\" he stated. The summit, organized by the African Election Observers Network (AfEONet) in collaboration with CDD-Ghana and the West Africa Election Observers Network (WAEON), convened election observers, civil society groups, and democracy experts to discuss emerging threats to election credibility and devise practical solutions. Prempeh highlighted the escalating cost of political campaigns and the lack of transparency in campaign financing as significant barriers to political participation and accountability. He noted that outdated estimates of political spending often failed to capture the true scale of expenditures. \"Money in politics has become a major issue across the continent,\" he said. Prempeh also connected electoral financing to technological manipulation and the protection of civic space, warning that restrictions on journalists, election observers, and civil society could hinder the exposure of abuses. \"Africa's electoral integrity is only as strong as the civic space in which it is contested,\" he warned. He called for enhanced political finance transparency and regulation, safeguards for AI and information integrity, and stronger protection for media practitioners and citizen observers. Prempeh urged participants to view money, technology, and civic rights as interlinked challenges, asserting that weaknesses in one area could exacerbate issues in the others. He stressed that defending electoral integrity required a collective African effort, involving governments, civil society, and democratic institutions. Reverend James Lahai, Chairperson of WAEON, stressed that credible elections rely on more than technological advancements, emphasizing the need to safeguard citizens' rights and civic space. \"Political trust cannot be built on technology alone,\" he said, stressing the importance of transparency, accountability, and public engagement. Lahai called for stronger collaboration among electoral management bodies and citizen observers, expressing concern about the diminishing space for election observation in some African countries. Mr Samuel Dottoh Kwaah, Director of Electoral Services at Ghana's Electoral Commission (EC), highlighted transparency and inclusion as crucial to building public trust in Ghana's electoral process. He affirmed that technology was being employed to enhance voter registration, biometric verification, and public access to electoral information, while acknowledging the potential misuse of artificial intelligence. Bishop Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, Chairman of the National Peace Council, urged African governments and electoral stakeholders to intensify cooperation in tackling electoral violence, misinformation, political intolerance, and illicit campaign financing. He emphasized that electoral integrity should encompass the entire electoral cycle, from voter registration and campaign activities to peaceful resolution of disputes.",
  "summary": "African states must strengthen safeguards around artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies to protect electoral integrity from disinformation, deepfakes and coordinated manipulation, Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, Executive Director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has said.",
  "key_points": [
    "African nations must enhance AI-driven electoral safeguards, warns Kwasi Prempeh",
    "Electoral integrity summit addresses technology abuse and civic space protection",
    "Money, technology, and civic rights interlinked challenges in African elections"
  ],
  "editors_take": "African states must strengthen safeguards against AI-driven electoral manipulation to protect public trust, prevent erosion of electoral integrity, and ensure credible elections, as technology's dark side threatens democratic progress.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Ghana Business News",
        "title": "African states must strengthen safeguards against AI-driven electoral manipulation – Kwasi Prempeh",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/african-states-must-strengthen-safeguards-against-ai-driven-electoral-9720938",
        "published": "2026-09-25T07:04:48.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}