Ghana reviewing laws to entrench free expression – Mahama

President John Mahama has stated that Ghana is currently reviewing its laws in order to create harmony between the maintenance of law and order and the rights of its people.

He said the move is intended to further entrench democracy and also ensure that citizens feel belonged and protected by their government.

Speaking at the 70th General Assembly of the United Nations in the US Wednesday, the President said nations must begin to examine the operations of their basic institutions in order to ensure that they are delivering on the mandate for which they were established.

“If we are to discuss the road ahead, we must do so with new language, with ideas and solutions that do not exist in the annals of history. And we must begin with an examination of our most basic institutions—the governmental, the cultural, the societal and the personal.

“Some of the very institutions that were set in place to protect and promote peace are the very ones violating their mandates and engendering fear in the public,” he noted.

He added: “In Ghana we are also reviewing our rules of engagement to create a balance between the maintenance of law and order and the basic rights of our people to free speech and free expression”.

The President’s remarks come after the bloody standoff between the protesters of the Let My Vote Count Alliance and the police as they demonstrated over the Voters’ register.