Educate supporters on political tolerance -CDD

Accra Sept. 1, GNA - The Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) on Thursday appealed to political parties to continue to inculcate the value of political tolerance in their supporters since it cost the nation resources to maintain peace.

A statement issued by the CDD on the successful bye-election at Odododiodoo said, "The rising level of political intolerance in our electoral process is a cause for concern. It also has the potential to taint our democratic dispensation."

The Centre also called on civic educators, including the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), The Electoral Commission (EC), political parties and the media to be active and proactive in their approach to civic education.

The statement stemmed out of the observations CDD made after three weeks of pre-election monitoring of activities leading up to the bye-election in the constituency and noted that civic education was still under-utilized in the country's electoral process.

The CDD said, "xcessive deployment of security personnel was another major concern observed by the centre, recommending that security agencies limit or avoid the use of armoured vehicles and sirens during elections."

Giving the overall observation of the bye-election, CDD said, "the election was very peaceful and fair but was not entirely free of fear." The Centre congratulated all political parties, candidates, the Electoral Commission, the security agencies, the media and the people of Odododiodoo for the successful and peaceful conduct of the bye-election. CDD further congratulated the National Democratic Congress for retaining the seat. 1 Sept.05