Adentan NCCE holds parliamentary dialogue to ensure peaceful 2024 elections

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) organised the Parliamentary Candidates’ Dialogue (PCD) 2024 for candidates in the Adentan constituency in the Greater Accra Region on November 19, 2024.

The dialogue, held as part of the NCCE's mandate to promote constitutional democracy and issue-based, peaceful elections, provided a platform for candidates to engage with constituents.

Candidates presented their visions and policies on key issues identified through a voter survey (Matters of Concern to the Ghanaian Voter) conducted by the NCCE.

Sylvia Osei-Bonsu, the NCCE Municipal Director for Adentan, highlighted the importance of the dialogue, stating:

“This is one of our flagship programs where every four years we conduct a survey on matters of concern to the Ghanaian voter. After the survey, we come up with five key issues that Ghanaians want their presidential and parliamentary candidates to address. Based on this survey, we ask our candidates questions.

“This time around, two candidates presented themselves for the dialogue, the CPP and the independent candidate. The two major political parties did not turn up. It’s very disappointing because they are the two major political parties, and we expected them to be present to share their views on these areas,” she added.

Mrs. Bonsu continued, “I will take the opportunity to inform Ghanaians that the December polls are not about fighting or quarreling; it’s about using one’s thumb to make a choice of our leaders, so voters should go and vote peacefully on that day. After voting, we expect everyone to go home and return after 5 pm to observe counting. These elections are based on issues and not quarreling and insults.”

Abdul Razak Alhassan, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) parliamentary candidate, expressed gratitude to the NCCE for organising the event.

He highlighted key issues affecting Adentan, including education, healthcare, and youth engagement in harmful substances such as tramadol.

He urged constituents to prioritise residents over external candidates, emphasising his vision to uplift Adentan.

“I want to thank them for organising such a program. We are in an election year, so we have to come together to dialogue and advise ourselves about the pending elections.

“They have also given us a chance to tell the constituents about our policies. But my greatest pain is that the two biggest parties, NPP and NDC, did not show up even though they gave us the letters about two weeks ago.

“Nobody has been able to win the Adentan seat for two terms because those who contest are not real Adentan constituents. When it is an election, they bring people to contest, and when the constituents realize that the person is not a member, they vote them out. For us as residents of Adentan, we aim to follow the footprints of Kwame Nkrumah to uplift Adentan constituency.

“We have seen that schooling is a big problem in Adentan, as well as hospitals. The youth engage in the use of tramadol and other social vices, which we aim to help them with. This year, everybody says Alhaji is the right person to win the election.”

Hagar Asiedu, an independent candidate, focused her campaign on education, healthcare, and employment.

Asiedu also pledged to champion the needs of single mothers and women, advocating for their empowerment and contributions to the constituency's development.

“Our message was about Education, Employment, Health, Economy, and Agriculture. Those were the key questions that the NCCE asked us during the dialogue.

“So, what I have for my constituency is we have tried NPP, we have tried NDC from 2004. This time around, they should give independent candidates a chance to go to parliament and bring good things to Adentan.

“What is happening in parliament currently, if we had independent candidates or other parties, I am not sure parliament would be hung or whatever is going on would happen.

“I am a woman, and I stand for single mothers. I have realised that single mothers and other social issues contribute a lot to the development of the country and Adentan as a whole.

“My main motive is to empathize with single mothers especially, to help them to bring up their children. I am there for the single mothers, I am there for the women, and I am there for the men as well,” she explained.

In the bid to ensure peaceful elections, the two candidates pledged to promote non-violence, tolerance, and peaceful elections to ensure we continue to enjoy peace before, during, and after the general elections.

The NCCE reiterated its commitment to ensuring violence-free elections, urging citizens to prioritise peace and focus on issues that drive national development.

AM/MA

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