Women’s Aglow prays for country, Charlotte Osei
The Women’s Aglow Ministry has held a national prayer session to seek God’s intervention for peaceful and violence-free election, with a call on politicians, political parties and other key stakeholders to live above reproach in the interest of the nation.
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The hundreds of women who gathered at the forecourt of Parliament House in Accra last Saturday also offered special prayers for the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs Charlotte Osei, and five officials of the commission who graced the event.
Led by its National Prayer Director, Mrs Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, the group offered intercessory prayers for the country and called on God to strengthen all stakeholders in the electoral process to make them act responsibly in the discharge of their duties.
Prayer for EC Chairperson
The spirit-filled congregants directed their prayer at Mrs Osei, calling on God to give her the courage to be strong in applying the electoral rules in a fair, firm and transparent manner in the interest of national unity.
Mrs Affenyi-Dadzie, drawing inspiration from the Bible, urged the EC not to be intimidated by individuals and groups who might want to mar the electoral process.
She, however, asked the electoral body to put its house in order to ensure that all temporary staff recruited to assist it at various levels did not corrupt the efficiency of the electoral process.
In a charged and electrifying atmosphere, a pot was broken to symbolically signify the divine intervention of God in all matters relating to violence, bloodshed and death that might arise in the course of the elections.
Amid the tooting of animal horns, the leadership of the group, joined by the gathering, sprinkled “special water” on the grounds of the event to indicate that the country would witness peace after the December 7 polls.
“By breaking this pot and engaging in other spiritual exercises, we disorganise all forms of organised plans to perpetrate mayhem during the elections; we break every yoke of misunderstanding and abort all evil plans against the EC and the sanctity of the electoral process,” Mrs Afenyi-Dadzie declared.
Prayer for divine protection
Humbled by the spiritual exercise, a visibly confident Mrs Osei submitted her prayer request to God, calling for renewed strength, co-operation from political parties and the protection of all electoral materials.
She asked for divine protection for all politicians, the security agencies and all stakeholders in the December 7 elections, saying that “when the enemies rise to destroy the beauty of the electoral process, frustrate their efforts and let us have a nation where the righteous will rule”.
She gave a firm indication that the EC was up to the task and that it needed the collaboration of all the security agencies and political actors to ensure that the outcome of the elections would be credible.
The EC Chairperson and other officials of the women’s group asked the media to play their gate-keeping role in an objective and balanced manner in order not to inflame passions.
The speakers observed that the crucial nature of the elections required media personnel who would adhere to the principles of cross-checking facts and reporting on issues with a sense of responsibility.
Background
As the December 7 polls draw closer, political parties have intensified their campaigning. However, there are reports of pockets of violence in some parts of the country, including clashes at Odododiodoo in Accra, Wulensi in the Northern Region and other areas.
These violent clashes have left the public wondering about the peace of the country during and after the elections.
It is in the light of the above that the Aglow Women’s Ministry set aside the day to pray for the peace of the nation.