December 7 election test of media integrity — Ho-Bankoe Afetornyornufia

The December 7 election will be a test of the integrity and strength of the Ghanaian media, the Afetornyornufia of Ho-Bankoe, Mama Bobi III, has said.

She added that the media was the guardian of the truth for the people of Ghana, for which reason it must not allow various interest groups to manipulate them to pursue their political or parochial interests other than the national interest.

Mama Bobi said this in a paper she presented at a peace concert in Ho last Saturday.

The concert, organised by the St Anne Youth Choir of the Sacred Heart Cathedral of Ho-Bankoe, was on the theme: “Uniting Ghana for peace through music”.

Mama Bobi said the media’s role in ensuring the success of the electoral process could hardly be undervalued since their words could undermine the peace of the country.

That, she said, highlighted the need for media practitioners to maintain a strong professional posture before, during and after the election.

Electoral process

Mama Bobi said Ghana had invested heavily in the electoral process over the years, but there had never been a time that the entire process went smoothly without a trace of violence, with issues ranging from grievance to expression of exclusion and sometimes killings to petitions.

“This implies that the causes of electoral violence are complex and multidimensional, with underlying causes which must be resolved to ensure elections did not become events of do or die,” she said.

Mama Bobi pointed out that a weak or deficient state structure could be interpreted to mean a weak electoral regime, unchecked power of political parties, politicised judicial system and systemic corruption.

“In our case, we can extend the deficiency to include how our security forces are perceived to be excessively politicised, ethnically influenced or simply unprofessional.

These elements, you may agree with me, only propel insecurity, dent the law and undermine order,” the Afetornyornufia of Ho-Bankoe said.

She said it was crucial to define the electoral process through the building of public trust and by the encouragement of an approach that fostered joint responsibility for the process, a level playing field for contestants and all parties, and transparency in all aspects of the process.

The queen said an assurance of a fair and efficient dispute resolution process was also vital for the success of the election.She urged political parties to cease focusing on personalities and rather focus on Ghana and the ordinary citizen.

“As a judge and a queen, I want to remind political parties to think of ways to make the condition of the ordinary person in Ghana and Ho better. They need food, shelter, education and hospitals.

“We are suffocated as a people. No growth, no space to think and grow. Start thinking of us as human beings, not votes. We should be your goals, not the means to your goals,” Mama Bobi said.