Political leaders urged to accept verdict of Ghana’s polls
Members of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) have urged political leaders to accept the verdict of Ghanaians in the December 7 election and avoid any act that will dent the country’s democratic credential.
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They said Ghana was a beacon of democracy in Africa, and that the whole of Africa was expecting the country to once again demonstrate its democratic ideals of peace, tolerance and understanding in the election.
Speaking separately with the Daily Graphic at the end of a four-day training workshop in Accra last Thursday, Mr McHenry Venaani from Namibia and Dr Phenyo Butale from Botswana said Ghana could not disappoint Africa in the election.
The result-based management training was organised by the PAP and facilitated by the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs.
Members were taught how to organise their programmes in a specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound (SMART) manner.
Mr Venaani
Mr Venaani said Ghana’s history of peaceful transitions of power from a ruling government to an opposition party in 2000 and 2008 had enhanced the country’s democratic credential.
Therefore, he said, the expectation was that Ghana would go through this year’s election in a free, fair and peaceful manner.
Mr Venaani, who is also an opposition leader in Namibia, said Ghana was bigger than any politician, and therefore it behoved politicians to respect the will of the people in the election.
He advised political leaders to avoid the use of incitement or abusive language that had the tendency of creating tension during the election.
Dr Butale
Dr Butale said Ghanaians had demonstrated in previous elections that they were capable of going through a free, fair and peaceful election.
He said this year’s election was another opportunity for Ghanaians to once again showcase their rich democratic laurels.
Dr Butale, who is a Member of Parliament in Botswana, said it was the expectation of the PAP and Africa as a whole that Ghanaians would come out of the election unscathed.
Training
At the end of the training, the Head of Human Resources and Administration of the PAP, Mrs Vivian Abii, said the PAP expected that the training had equipped the members with the requisite skills to conduct their work more efficiently in their respective parliaments.
Besides, she said, it would improve the performance and ensure more efficiency and accountability from the PAP.
