‘Don’t provoke others with your celebrations’
Victors in the upcoming election have been entreated to be modest in their celebration in order not to provoke losers.
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The Ashanti Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Alhassan Yakub, made the call at a workshop organised for young political activists in the Atwima Kwanwoma District.
It was sponsored by the European Union and was on the theme: “Empowering the Youth to Stand up for Peaceful Election 2016.”
Mr Yakub stated that “at times how winners celebrate their victory could inflame passion and degenerate into fights” and as such pleaded with the political parties to be considerate in their celebrations.
The objective of the workshop was to educate youth activists and leaders on the need to ensure a violence free election, transparent and peaceful environment before, during and after the elections.
The regional director said elections were not a ‘do-and-die’ affair and as such should not be the source of conflict, adding that it is a process to select the leaders to manage the affairs of the country.
He appealed to the youth not to allow themselves to be used as conduits to cause violence in the country as they would be worst affected in case of any conflict.
According to him, the youth have their entire future ahead of them and any act of violence could derail their dream. Consequently, he advised them to desist from any act that could jeopardise their future.
The District Electoral Officer, Mrs Elizabeth Ohene, took the participants through the ongoing vote transfer and proxy registration and urged the youth to educate their followers on the process.
She said there were certain conditions to be met before one could transfer his or her vote and advised the youth to follow these requirements before seeking to transfer their votes.
In his welcome address, the District Director of the NCCE, Mr Kofi Akoto-Boateng, was grateful to the EU for funding what he described as ‘an all important event’ and reminded the participants of their important role as youth and civil society leaders in the electoral process.
He, urged the participants to do all within their power to use the basic knowledge and skills they acquired from the workshop to ensure that “this year’s election will be one of the most peaceful and violence free in Ghana’s political history.”