Peace is a shared Responsibility - NCCE

The National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) has called on stakeholders, especially political parties to ensure peace before, during and after the upcoming polls to engender national development.

It said the election was part of the Country’s democratic processes and therefore it was the social responsibility of all eligible voters to help choose a leader with the best policies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

” Go out and vote peacefully in December to choose your preferred government, for Ghana is for all of us and peace is all we seek,” it admonished.

Speaking on “Peaceful Elections” at a town hall meeting organised by the Justice and Peace Commission at Saltpond, Mrs Judith Adomako, the Mfantseman NCCE Director who made the call, urged political parties to refrain from politics of insult and unnecessary arguments that could generate chaos.

The theme of the meeting was “The Roles of Parliament, Local Authorities, and Participatory Governance for Community Development”.

She admonished political parties to avoid sharing luxurious items and monies to the electorates to influence them to vote for them.

This, she indicated, was a bad practice that could deny Ghana the right candidates who could bring the needed development to the electorates and the Ghanaian populace.

Mrs Adomako advised stakeholders to collaborate with agencies and organizations working towards peaceful elections to promote peace among the electorate and Ghana as a whole.

She encouraged the youth to refrain from involving themselves to be used as vigilante groups to distract and destroy the country’s peace because it would affect their families and loved ones in various societies.

The Mfantseman Director of the NCCE schooled participants on the do’s and don’ts during election to avoid rejected ballots.

She asked them to ensure their ballot papers were stamped with the Electoral Commission’s (EC) official stamp before they cast their votes.

Reverend Bernard Ackon, Parish Priest of the St John's Catholic Church, Nankesido, Saltpond, called on the electorates and political aspirants to embrace peace in their campaigns ahead of next month’s polls.

He said without peace, there would be no President or Member of Parliament, neither a country to rule over, he, however, urged all to ensure peace in all their endeavours towards the general elections.

The Parish Priest told stakeholders to consider the future of the young generation and eschew any unnecessary acts of violence in the country.

Mrs Ophelia Kwansa Hayford, New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate for the Mfantseman Constituency, urged the people to ensure peace, unity and love among themselves no matter their political differences.

She explained that they were one people, one nation and needed peace to contribute to national development.

Mr James Essoun, the Mfantseman Parliamentary Candidate, National Democratic Congress (NDC), also advised the youth to see themselves as one people to ensure a peaceful election next month.

He indicated that peace was not an event but a process and therefore urged all to collaborate to ensure a successful nation.