Peace Council develops roadmap to counter election violence
The National Peace Council (NPC) says it has developed a roadmap to counter election violence and strengthen processes to build greater cohesion, political tolerance and nation-building ahead of the 2024 polls.
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In line with that, the NPC is seeking an audience with the judiciary to see if it could shorten the adjudication time frame for parliamentary elections.
The council has also had several meetings with the Electoral Commission to discuss various issues of concern and seek clarification on matters that the public has brought to its attention.
Constituents
The Chairman of NPC, Rev. Dr Ernest Adu Gyamfi, said in a speech read on his behalf by the Executive Secretary of the council George Amoh in Accra last Monday at a collaborative dialogue with its constituents in the context of the 2024 general election.
The constituents were Ahmadiyya Mission, Al-Sunna, Tijaniyyah, Pentecostal Council, Christian Council, African Traditional religion, Charismatic Council, Catholic Bishops Conference, representatives of the National House of Chiefs, Civil Society Organisations and non-governmental organisations working within the peace sector or the academia.
Rev. Dr Adu Gyamfi said the NPC in collaboration with the National Media Commission and with support from the Danish Embassy had developed guidelines on hate speech and other forms of indecent expressions.
"The overall objective of these guidelines is to provide a clear checklist that will assist the media and those engaging the media to identify hate speech and thus curb its perpetration to guard against discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, political affiliations and other considerations that work against nation building," the chairman said.
He added that the council had engaged stakeholders in the five constituencies where the loss of lives occurred during the 2020 elections.
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They are Awutu-Senya, Odododiodio, Ablekuma Central, Techiman South and Savelugu.
Rev. Dr Adu Gyamfi said, the lessons and recommendations from those engagements would serve as building blocks to deal with similar issues that might arise during the elections.
The Council, he said was focus on resolving about 703 varied cases spanning tribal, chieftaincy, land, religious, resource among others that could disturb the peace in the country.
Mandate
The NPC is mandated to facilitate and develop mechanisms for conflict prevention, management, resolution and to build sustainable peace in the country.