Chapter 8 administration. Foreign observer missions from the Carter Centre, EU, COG, AU, and ECOWAS as well as domestic observer groups including CODEO, IEA, media houses and NCCE have all contributed immensely to the credibility and transparency of elections in Ghana. Their large presence and visibility during elections has enhanced the legitimacy of electoral outcomes and helped deter overt acts of electoral violence, fraud, chicanery, and corruption, thereby boosting public confidence in the electoral process. However, in spite of all these mammoth contributions, there remain several challenges that tend to undermine their efforts. These include: financial constraints, human resource capacity, non-professionalism of some observers, lack of collaborative efforts and intimidation by political party thugs. As the way forward and in order to overcome these challenges, the following are recommended: ? Coordination and cooperation between and among external and local observers need to be strengthened. Both have comparative advantages that can be explored to ensure effective division of labour and the maximum use of limited resources. Cooperation in areas such as data gathering, and sharing of information, either formally or informally, can be considered. This will help observers to cover enough polling stations so as to have sufficient data to facilitate their analysis. It will also avoid duplication of effort and the adverse effects of inter-group competition. ? Donors and bilateral partners need to fulfill their financial commitments to local CSOs in a timely manner to enable 266