Let our politics be devoid of hate speech

This year’s general election is just some months away and as is to be expected, the various political parties, their leaders and supporters are engaging with the masses to sell their vision, programmes and policies to them.

It is also the time political parties and their leaders seeking the mandate of the people to govern use both the traditional and social media to solicit for the votes of the electorate.

As the electioneering gathers momentum and the country draws closer to the voting day, some of our political parties, their leaders and supporters have startedengaging in all manner of campaigns and indulging in hate speech and intemperate language just to win the votes of the people, discredit their opponents and sometimes incite violence.

We have come far as a country in our democratic journey to engage in hate speech and, therefore, expect our political parties, their leaders and members to embark on issue-based and decent language campaign to reduce the tension often associated with our elections.

Our current democratic dispensation has granted freedom of speech as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution and there is no need to abuse that provision.

Our political leaders and their supporters must guard against utterances that seek to threaten the peace and stability of the country as we head towards the 2024 polls.

The call by the National Peace Council (NPC) on political parties to avoid hate speech and the use of intemperate language in the 2024 electioneering is thus a timely one (See the front page of Daily Graphic, Thursday, February 22, 2024 issue).

The Daily Graphic sees this call as a worthy one, which when adhered to by political parties can produce an incident-free and peaceful general election.

Although the stakes are high in this year's elections, the Daily Graphic also adds its voice to the call by the NPC for our political parties, especially their leaders to lead by example by setting the highest standards that discourage hate speech of any form or on any platform as the elections heat up.

If we want to be united as a country our political leaders and their followers must hold themselves to the highest standards possible without any excuse.

The various political parties and their leaders must also impress on their members and supporters to desist from such acts as it is not hate speech and intemperate language that would win the elections for them.

Elections are won through well-crafted messages.

We believe, therefore, that at all times, politicians must use language that seeks to convince voters to accept their policies and programmes.

Hence, freedom of expression must be geared towards promoting progress, not destruction.

 Ghanaians have useful lessons to guide them as they walk the path of democracy and not wait for a few troublemakers to drag the nation back through their reckless speeches.

It is the view of the Daily Graphic that as we head towards the 2024 elections, it is critical to draw a distinction between freedom of expression and hate speech by encouraging responsible journalism.

That is why the media must not allow their platforms to be used to propagate and incite violence, given the power they wield.

The paper believes that the media must make their platforms available to be used for good causes because they are a major source of information and act as a catalyst for shaping public opinion.

Hate speech is divisive and inimical to the peace and security of the country and we call on all like-minded Ghanaians, civil society organisations and the media to rid our body politic of hate speech and intemperate language as we head towards the elections on December 7.

We wish commend the NPC and the National Media Commission for the recent launch of Guidelines on Hate Speech and other forms of Indecent Expressions in the country which is aimed at sanitising the airwaves and preventing needless verbal utterances against personalities and ethnic, religion-based and culturally divisive discrimination.

With the advice from the NPC and the launch of the guidelines on hate speech, we hope our political parties would be decorous in their campaign to ensure a peaceful general election.