President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said the government will ensure that the December 7 general elections will be free, fair and transparent.
The President also said the government will not spare any opportunity to support the Electoral Commission (EC) in the discharge of credible elections, stressing that the peace that characterised the just-ended Ejisu by-elections will manifest in the general elections.
Addressing workers during the 2024 May Day celebration in Accra, the President charged workers and social partners to “hold state actors accountable for their mandates.”
According to the President, the theme of this year’s May Day celebration, ‘Elections 2024: The Role of Workers and Social Partners in Securing Peaceful Elections for National Development‘ places a responsibility on state institutions to discharge their duties efficiently.
“Disputes and disagreements are bound to arise in the course of work. However, when such disputes and disagreements emerge, we look forward to the responsible agencies for redress,” said President Akufo-Addo.
Moreover, the President emphasised that the labour unions have a key role to play in the 2024 general elections.
He maintained that the voices and the participation of the workers in the electoral process are essential.
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“Your voices matter, your participation is essential,” he said.
He added, “Ghana will once again emerge stronger, more united, and more capable and advancing development goals. Workers as the backbone of our country have a special role to play in shaping our elections.”
Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Dr Yaw-Baah, for his part, urged the Electoral Commission to deliver free, fair, and transparent elections.
He also asked the Police and Judiciary to play their roles effectively to ensure credible polls.
Touching on the economic hardships, he said the programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is not yielding the expected results for workers.
In his view, it appears there is no light at the end of the tunnel for the economic hardships.
“It appears there is no end in sight for the challenges. We were told that an IMF bailout will help but we know that an IMF bailout can’t be the solution to the economic hardship…We have a lot to do to protect the workers of Ghana,” he said.
Regarding the challenges of the Cedi, Dr. Yaw Baah said that to deal with the woes, there’s a need to reduce importation.
International Workers’ Day, also known as Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement. It occurs every year on May 1st.
In Ghana, this year’s May Day was themed “Elections 2024: The Role of Workers and Social Partners in Securing Peaceful Elections for National Development.”
