Council for Clergy asks EC to revise voting on Sunday

The International Council for Clergy (ICC), an association of independent Ministers of God and churches, at the weekend, called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to revise the voting for presidential and parliamentary candidates on Sunday.

Archbishop Dr. Slezer Ofori-Atta, Presiding Archbishop of the ICC who made the call in Accra, said although the council had no intention to boycott this year's General Election, which falls on Sunday, the EC must make sure that history does not repeat itself in subsequent elections. He was speaking to the Ghana News Agency, as part of the 13th public international ordination and second convention of the council.


Archbishop Ofori-Atta noted that although majority of Ghanaians are religious, Christians are in the majority, hence the need to respect their commitment to the day.


"God must also be given pre-eminence in all things." Archbishop Ofori-Atta however asked Christians to turn out in their numbers to vote, since it is through the exercise of the civic responsibility of all Ghanaians that God would choose leaders for the country.


He also called on politicians to respect the relative peace Ghana is enjoying by not using abusive language that could undermine national security.

Archbishop Ofori-Atta called for a clean campaign devoid of ethnocentrism.


"Let us all endeavour to live in harmony with ourselves and respect the diversity that bind us together."


Archbishop Ofori-Atta asked the 16 Ministers of God who were ordained at the function, to uphold the sanctity of their calling. He observed that, although their job was the noblest in the world, the deviant deeds of some ministers of God, which had attracted the media, are heart breaking.


"It is disgusting to see ministers of God marrying the same sex in the church. These things ought not to be even mentioned amongst us. "It is disgraceful and only tends to honour the devil. Ministers of God must rise up to these challenges facing the nation and the world."