Upper East women march for peaceful elections

Women in the Upper East Region have gone on a street march in Bolgatanga with a call on Ghanaians to eschew violence before, during and after the general election on December 7, 2020.

The Women dubbed, “Upper East Women Caucus for Peace” comprised women groups from various political parties, faith-based groups, Civil Society Organizations, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) among others.

They marched through the principal streets of the Regional capital including; markets, lorry stations, wore different branded T-shirts of the various political parties, using public address system to advocate peaceful conduct of Ghanaians during the election.

They had placards with inscriptions such as “we want peace not war”, “ballots and not bullets”, political tolerance and democracy”, “we are one people with one nation” amidst drumming and dancing among others.

Ms Monica Akpanaba, the Chairperson for the group told the Ghana News Agency after the peace march that the election was about choosing competent leaders to man the affairs of the nation for improved livelihoods.

She said whenever there was violence or conflict, it was the women and children who suffered the most and therefore it was imperative for them to raise awareness on the need to ensure peace in the December polls to protect women and children.

“We women and our children are vulnerable and we cannot engage in the fight and we cannot run to anywhere, we are mostly the people who suffer, we are calling on Ghanaians to accept each other’s opinion in the election to create a good atmosphere for peace to thrive,” she said.

The Chairperson explained that violence was regarding the development of many nations and therefore it important for Ghanaians to preserve the prevailing peace to accelerate the progress of development made so far.

Madam Ruddy Ananga, the Vice-Chair of the Women Group, noted that the youth were usually prone to political influence to cause upheavals during elections and advised them to reason up and not allow themselves to be used to inflict pain on this nation.

Mrs Theresa Alegmia, Treasurer of the Group, said voting was the Civic responsibility of every Ghanaian especially those who had turned 18 years to participate in the election.

She however cautioned voters to return to their various homes after voting to ensure that there was no confusion at the polling stations.

“You can listen to the radio or watch Television for the results, accept the results the way it is because we are one people with a common destiny,” she said.