Safeguarding Ghana’s democracy in this year’s Parliamentary and Presidential election is everybody’s business. This is informed by the fact that we were all witnesses to the post-election violence that erupted in Kenya and Zimbabwe this year, leading to the massive destruction of life and property; events that are bound to have a negative toll on the economic and social well being of their people.
Only last month, there were violent political conflicts in Tamale and Gushiegu sparked of as a result of little provocation. The chaos and anarchy it created also left in its wake massive destruction of life and property. Indeed one cannot lose sight of acts of violence in several centres during the recent voter registration exercise of minors and foreign nationals. Disputes are the inevitable by-products of any keen contest over limited resources and a contest over political power, in young or emerging democracies, in particular, is no exception.
Our sister country, the Federal Republic of Nigeria went through this challenge and it should not come as a surprise Ghana experiences her fair share of election related disputes either before or after the December presidential and parliamentary polls. However, it is the conviction of all well meaning Ghanaians that collectively we can overcome this seeming threat. The media, being the fourth estate of the realm, the security agencies, the EC, civil society, and political parties have a critical role to play in the march towards peaceful and transparent elections in December.
Media houses and journalists in particular must not be seen to be pushing an agenda that would engender mistrust and lack of confidence in the electoral process. The Media must not pretend to allow dark clouds to cast shadows on its image.
To further consolidate the country’s corporate international image as one of the peaceful nations in the sub-region, the security apparatus must for now be on high alert and be up and doing especially in the various trouble spots in Northern Ghana and other parts of the country in the run-up to the December elections to ensure trouble-free electoral process for democracy to strive.
The EC and other stakeholders should also learn some useful lessons from the just ended voters registration and exhibition exercise. Expectations are high for all political parties and if need be, the number of security officers should be increased in the various polling centres on election day, to include both the military and police personnel in order to help avert any electoral crime that might threaten the peace in the region and Ghana as a whole.
Religious and traditional leaders have at different times also called on Ghanaians to openly declare a stand for peace and to openly profess that Ghana is for peace and not for violence. It is also noteworthy and a sign of hope for a better future for our democracy that all the registered political parties have over the weekend conducted their campaign activities peacefully. It is no doubt that these are indeed signs that collectively we can safeguard our democracy by seeing Ghana as one country with one people and a common destiny.
By: Dan Osman Mwin, Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Health
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