Disband para-military groups in political parties : Youth forum appeals
National Youth Leaders Forum, a youth advocacy and research group, has called on the police administration to take steps to disband all para-military/security groups in all political parties before the political temperature heats up prior to the 2016 elections.
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The group explained that with the high stakes in political activities coupled with the increasing seizure of large cache of sophisticated arms and ammunition from the various parts of the country, it would be dangerous to allow such groups to exist outside the existing police.
The leader of the group, Mr Michael Ampong, was addressing the media in Kumasi after the group’s end-of-year national meeting in Kumasi.
He alleged it was common knowledge that most political parties, especially the major ones, had set up security groups comprising well-built young men, mostly unemployed, who were used for their security work.
He explained that the disbandment should be done without fear or favour for the people to have confidence in the police as the last resort for safety.
Communicators
Mr Ampong, a known New Patriotic Party (NPP) activist, described the 2016 elections as very crucial to the sustenance of the nation’s peace and security which required sober heads to deliberate on issues.
He explained that political parties must present level- headed communicators who understood the issues and could articulate the views of the party without resorting to insults and ethnocentric comments that tended to heighten tempers.
He also appealed to the radio and television stations to ensure that people who were noted as divisive characters were not allowed to knock heads together in the name of politics.
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EC
Touching on the Electoral Commission (EC), he described the current electoral system as fraught with “serious challenges” which required that the commission collaborated with major stakeholders, the political parties, in order to smoothen all rough edges.
He said if the political parties were involved in all the stages and their views incorporated, they would own the process and work towards its success.
Political Parties
Mr Ampong, who unsuccessfully contested the National Youth Organiser position of the NPP, charged political parties to educate their members about the need to vote in the proper manner to reduce the increasing number of spoilt ballots, while ensuring that they selected well-educated persons as their polling agents.
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