Act as ambassadors of peace - NCCE director urges political parties
The Krowor Municipal Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Wilhelmina Nancy Adu-Asamoah, has urged leaders of political parties in the constituency to act as ambassadors of peace for their followers to emulate.
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At the inauguration of an inter-party dialogue committee in the constituency yesterday, she said such leaders could do so by promoting dialogue on peace, educating their members and modelling respectful behaviour to consolidate the country’s democratic gains going into the 2024 elections.
“As politicians and youth, we need to advise our youth and followers, not just that but to also serve as ambassadors to protect the peace of this country,” Mrs Adu-Asamoah said at the inauguration.
In all, 30 constituency party leaders from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), National Democratic Congress (NDC), Ghana Union Movement (GUM) People’s National Convention, traders association and religious leaders were present to foster peaceful dialogue in their respective roles.
Meeting
The NCCE Municipal Director explained that the meeting formed part of the Commission’s mandate under Article 233(d) of the 1992 Constitution to formulate, implement and oversee programmes intended to inculcate in the citizens of Ghana awareness of their civic responsibilities and an appreciation of their rights and obligations as free people.
The meeting, she said, aimed to foster constructive dialogue and to review how to achieve free and fair elections before, during and after the elections.
The stakeholders discussed pertinent issues such as money in politics, misinformation, religious tolerance and electoral offences.
On combating misinformation, Mrs Adu-Asamoah pointed out that many voters did not verify the sources of the information they received, leading to widespread misunderstanding and chaos within the community, particularly on the day of the election.
“We misinform people and it becomes a whole issue in society,” she added, underscoring the importance of educating voters.
To address this, she said the electorate needed to verify the source of every information they received before sharing it with others.
Country
The Kpeshie Divisional Police Commander, Emmanuel Odonkor Baah, urged the leaders to make Ghana paramount in all their dealings, adding, “Let’s put the interest of Ghana first above any other interest.”
“Despite our party colour, the ultimate is that we are one and we are all fighting to make Ghana a better place so let us use peaceful means to make Ghana a better place for us,” he said, stressing the need for aggrieved parties to use due process to address all their grievances.
He added that as a security service, its duty was to enforce the law, hence the need for the leaders to ensure that their followers complied with the laid down rules and regulations covering the elections.
For his part, the Chief Imam of the area, Mohammed Tijani, said as believers, protecting life and property in the constituency must be an utmost priority.