Let’s sustain religious, ethnic coexistence — Peace Council

The National Peace Council (NPC) has urged citizens to maintain the peace in the country by ensuring religious and tribal coexistence, especially in events leading to the December polls.

A member of the NPC, Maulvi Mohammed Bin Salih, made the call at the launch of the National Election Response Group (NERG), an integral component of the Electoral Violence Monitoring, Analysis and Mitigation (E-MAM) project in Accra.

At the launch organised by the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), in collaboration with the NPC, Maulvi Bin Salih said peace was the ultimate foundation on which Ghana could build its social, economic and political progress.

“Our country Ghana, in about seven months’ time goes to the polls to elect representatives and leaders who will govern the country for the next four years. We have proudly done this since 1992 and are looking forward to achieving peaceful elections again,” he said.

“The Global Peace Index since 2019 has ranked Ghana as the most peaceful country in the West Africa sub region except in 2023 when the country lost that position to Sierra Leone.

This should remind all of us of the need to jealously guard the peace and our peaceful coexistence in the upcoming general elections,” he stated

Political parties

Maulvi Bin Salih encouraged political parties to be cautious in expressing their opinions on national issues and seek to provide solutions to the various problems confronting the people.

“The NPC also wishes to encourage the political parties to express their opinions on national issues with decorum, provide practical solutions to the many challenges that confront us and abstain from hate speech as well as tribal politics.”

State fragility

The Deputy Minister for the Interior, Naana Eyiah, delivering a speech on behalf of the sector minister, Henry Quartey, noted that periodic elections, an integral part of democratic governance in the country, had provided the opportunity for citizens to exercise their rights to elect their leaders and to do so peacefully.

She, however, said there had been political tensions and violence along the electoral phases in Ghana.  “The impending December 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections are not immune from these threats and risks with potential to roll-back our democratic gains,” she said.

She urged Ghanaians and institutions in the country to remain committed to Ghana’s quest to sustain its well-earned credentials of holding transparent, inclusive, credible and peaceful elections. 

Sustainable peace

The Deputy Director, WANEP, Levinia Addae-Mensah, said by preventing and mitigating electoral violence, WANEP was not just safeguarding the integrity of Ghana’s democracy but also laying the foundation for sustainable peace. 

Together, let us work tirelessly to ensure that the upcoming elections in Ghana become a beacon of hope, free from the shadows of violence and testament of the tenets of cherished peace,” she said.

She commended the National Peace Council for its determination to address some of the most protracted conflicts in the country and for the critical role it continued to play in engaging political actors for the purposes of consolidating peace during various electoral phases.

“It is my firm belief that as we officially launch the NERG, the eminent personalities who are members of the group will indeed successfully harness their extensive expertise and strategic networks to ensure rapid responses to threats of election-related violence in Ghana,” she said.