Playing our role
We have commenced a process to help deepen participatory democracy by bringing together political parties at the regional level to enable them to affirm their commitment to peaceful orderly political campaigning and electioneering processes with the organisation of town hall meetings.
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We started from Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region last week, followed by Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region last Wednesday. We will be moving to Koforidua in the Eastern Region next week and conclude the interactions with Cape Coast in the Central Region, by the middle of this month.
Our objective is to provide a platform for representatives of the political parties, who are critical for the maintenance of peace but who usually do not have access to national channels of communication to reach out to the people in very meaningful and concrete ways. We are in a way giving voice to those who hold key positions on political parties at the local levels but who hardly get the opportunity to speak to the people at the national level.
As a state-owned media organisation, we are enjoined constitutionally to provide fair opportunities for all the political parties to reach out to the people to canvass for votes and seek to govern the country. Beyond that we are obliged to ensure that our political parties act within the limits of the law in all their activities. Bringing the political parties together to discuss issues is in itself a healthy and positive sign for democracy. Democracy thrives on the willingness of people to listen to and tolerate the viewpoints of others without creating conflict. Where there is conflict or disagreement, democracy requires that laid-down processes and procedures, the rule of law and due process prevail.
One of our major difficulties is tracing the offices of some of the political parties to invite them to participate in our programme. Under the political party’s law, the parties are required to have a presence in a number of districts. The Electoral Commission (EC) has the obligation to ensure that it happens. However, we regret to note that it appears that some of the political parties do not have the presence to be called national. It seems what some of them do is to seek signatures of founding fathers across the regions and districts and thereafter recoil once they receive their certificate of registration.
Many have argued justifiably that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are not the only political parties in the country, but in reality, the two appear to be present in many areas as required by law than some of the other parties. As a matter of fact, the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) appears to be doing better than even the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the People’s National Convention (PNC). It is our prayer that the political parties will collaborate with the EC to ensure that they meet the minimum requirement of their presence in a number of districts to remain on the register of political parties.
A major observation that we have made is the fact that in the regions, the youth play critical roles in the operations of the political parties. It is thus imperative that we imbue in them the necessity for peace and tolerance. Indeed, at our town hall meeting in Bolgatanga, the representative of the CPP, Ayumah Musah, made a very profound statement. In declaring the interest of the party for peaceful and orderly conduct of elections and political party campaigns, he noted that the CPP had selected a physically challenged person as their flag bearer. Therefore, if the loyalists of the CPP engender violence and cause mayhem, what could happen to their presidential candidate? It was very solemn and almost all present felt he had said something that we all needed to think about. These are some of the factors which must engage our attention as we approach the elections on December 7 and as candidates criss-cross the length and breadth of the country to appeal to electorate to vote for them.
Ghana is the only country that we have and which we call our nation. We have a duty to preserve the unity and peaceful development of this country so that we can live in dignity. The political parties have crucial roles to play in maintaining the integrity of our nation.
As the Graphic Communications Group Limited embarks on these town hall meetings, it is our plea that the political parties will team up with us with the highest quality of regional representation. The more that regional and local party activists and functionaries are nationally exposed, the more diffused political leadership will emerge and move our country forward.