Ms Portia Adjakrah, the Ayawaso East Municipal Director, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has charged members of the district’s Inter-Party Dialogue Committee (IPDC) to identify and address issues that may mar the 2024 general election.
The NCCE inaugurated its IPDC, composed of representatives of religious and traditional bodies, political parties, security agencies, youth groups, and traditional authorities, among others.
Ms Adjakrah explained that the IPDC initiative aims at bringing key stakeholders together to deliberate on appropriate steps to mitigate electoral conflicts and foster collaboration, especially among political parties, to find a common ground for smooth and fair elections.
She said the committee would use their expertise to tackle challenges in the communities, encourage cooperation among political parties, and reduce the risk of political instability to demonstrate democratic principles, especially after this year’s election.
The IPDC is essential to tackling abusive language, disinformation, misunderstandings, and misinformation to ensure free, monetisation-free, and violence-free elections.
She appealed to Ghanaians not to be influenced to vote for parties based on monies politicians offered them.
“If you take money before you vote, something that is supposed to be done at your own free will, how then do you hold the political players accountable?” Ms Adjakrah queried.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Asong Ayrakwa, the Nima Police Commander, said the Ghana Police Service would soon launch a National Zongo Youth Campaign aimed at targeting the youth in all the Zongo communities to be agents of peace and change before, during, and after the elections.
The initiative, when commenced, would shape the mindset of the youth and reduce the rate at which some politicians target them as tools of destruction, which could have a ripple effect on the entire community.
He said the major causes of misunderstanding seen in the area recently had to do with the medium of publicity for the political parties, and therefore admonished the political parties to be discreet in their activities to limit violence in the various communities and in the country.
The participants suggested that more education was needed at the grassroots to raise the youth consciousness on the impact of electoral violence on the family, communities, and the country at large.
