National early warning, response mechanism launched
A national early warning and response mechanism to mitigate threats posed to the peaceful conduct of the December 7 elections was launched in Accra yesterday.
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Known as the National Election Early Warning and Response Group (NEEWARG), it is made up of eminent persons from relevant state and non-state institutions to complement the government’s efforts to prevent and mitigate election-related violence.
The initiative is expected to be replicated at the regional level in the Northern and Ashanti regions to ensure that electoral conflicts at the grass roots receive immediate attention and response at the regional level.
It is a partnership among the National Peace Council (NPC), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) and the United Nations Development Programme towards peaceful elections.
Election dispute
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Prosper Bani, who launched the project, said while election disputes were healthy, as they ensured the strengthening of democracy and processes, it was the way they were managed that could either trigger conflict or promote peace.
He said after six elections in which the country continued to build upon its democratic credentials, it was important that Ghanaians began to believe in the relevant state institutions as they deserved public confidence to execute their duties.
While pledging his ministry’s commitment to work with the group to respond to threats that could undermine the elections, he also urged them to, among other things, be objective and impartial in the discharge of their duties.
The United States Ambassador to Ghana, Ambassador Robert P. Jackson, observed that while Ghana deserved commendation for consistently holding peaceful elections, despite strong political competition, the country must not be complacent.
To members of the group and other stakeholders in the election process, he said: “We urge you to be vigilant and do your best to contribute to the peaceful conduct of the elections. I know that if we work together, we will see more than just peaceful elections in Ghana; we will see a stronger, more inclusive and more prosperous Ghana.”
Membership
Core membership of the NEEWARG is drawn from institutions including the NPC, CSOs, the ministries of the Interior and Defence, the National House of Chiefs, the National Election Task Force, the National Media Commission (NMC), the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Communications and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), while WANEP, USAID and UNDP have observer status.
Commit to peace
The Chairman of the NPC, the Most Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Asante, rallied all Ghanaians to commit themselves to peaceful polls, adding that beyond the launch of the initiative, the group would ensure that the elections were peaceful.
He said the early warning system would provide the country with mechanism that addressed threats before they escalated into conflicts.
A Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission in charge of Operations, Mr Amadu Sulley, for his part, stated that the commission would conduct credible and transparent elections, as it had done over the years.
The Country Director of the UNDP, Mr Dominic Sam, who described Ghana as a benchmark for Africa’s democracy, said the UN agency was committed to continuously supporting to strengthen early response to threats around the elections and reducing the potential for conflicts.
Ghana has not experienced post-election violence since it took the democratic path in 1992, but the Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, observed that the posturing and utterances of the two leading parties — the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) — did not augur well for peace.
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