3 Institutions promote historic accord

 Amidst friendly and hearty chatting from the start of the programme, the candidates pledged to ensure that Ghana did not go the way of other countries that had been destroyed due to electoral violence.

Setting the tone for the historic meeting, President John Dramani Mahama affirmed his commitment to peaceful, free, fair and transparent elections.

He gave an assurance that the government would support the Electoral Commission (EC) with all the funds to organise the elections in a free, fair, transparent and peaceful manner.

Besides, he said, the government would encourage the security services to provide the peaceful atmosphere to enable all Ghanaians to cast their votes in an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity.

President Mahama, who is the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), said Ghana had been on the path of democracy and held five successful elections in the last 20 years.

He said that solid democratic credential had endeared the country to the whole world.

“The elections will consolidate our democracy as the best democracy in the world,” he said.

The President said he had already led by example by avoiding the use of insulting language on political platforms.

Besides, he said, he had instructed the government’s communication team to reflect his personality in their deliberations by not insulting anybody.

He commended traditional leaders and civil society organisations for working to promote peace in the country.

The presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, affirmed that the party would not embark on any move that would endanger the peace of the nation.

“We have reasonable confidence in the systems that have been set up by the EC and we urge the commission’s officials to be unbiased and professional in their work,” he stated.

He said there were anxiety and increasingly loud calls for peace because “the government has not tried to build any confident measures to assure the citizens that the security agencies have a free hand to do their work in an impartial manner”.

Nana Akufo-Addo did not understand why there had not been any swift arrest and prosecution of members of the NDC who were responsible for the recent violence against members of the NPP in Asutifi South.

He also called for an impartial investigation into the contents of the Mr Yaw Boateng Gyan tape, which he (Boateng Gyan) had accepted as genuine, together with the immediate publication of the results of the inquiry.

“People do not feel that the security agencies are party-colour blind in performing their duties. This fuels rumours and generates anxiety,” he indicated, and said President Mahama “must move beyond the rhetoric of calling for peace and demonstrate a commitment to ensure that state institutions discharge their duties professionally and with integrity”.

Mr Hassan Ayariga of the People’s National Convention (PNC) threw the entire auditorium into laughter with a couple of coughs before explaining what had become ‘Ayarigate’, meaning someone who could make the entire nation “laugh, smile and enjoy”.

He told his fellow candidates that as people seeking the mandate of the people, they should not squeeze their faces and look strange, adding that as a youthful presidential candidate, he believed in the politics of love and tolerance.

Mr Ayariga said he would want to be President for Ghana and not President for the PNC and appealed to the people that if the two main political parties were causing problems, they should vote them out and vote for a different party, which was the PNC.

The running mate of the presidential candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Madam Akosua Frimpomaa Sarpong-Kumankuma, who represented Dr Abu Sakara Foster, was of the view that Ghanaians were generally one of the most peaceful people in the world but would only react violently when they felt cheated and subdued.

Dr Sakara could not attend the programme because he had travelled outside the country. Even though he was said to have committed himself to attend the programme, he had challenges with his flight back home

Madam Sarpong-Kumankuma said Ghanaians had been praying and talking about peace not because they were a violent people but that the leaders were seeking to win power.

She, therefore, appealed to the youth of all the political parties who had been given weapons and money to cause trouble, including the snatching of ballot boxes on the election day, to rescind their decision.

The presidential candidate of the United Front Party (UFP), Mr Akwasi Addae, pledged his party’s commitment to peace.

He said he stood for peace and that he would do everything possible to maintain the prevailing peace in the country.

Mr Addae gave an assurance that his campaign would be peaceful and that he would ensure that all his followers adhered to peace.

“Ghana is a peaceful country and  I will make sure that all my followers follow suit,” he said.

The presidential candidate of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Dr Henry Lartey, had a simple gesture which attracted thunderous response from the audience in the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

He simply raised his right arm, shouted ‘Peace!’ and asked the people to repeat after him.

Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) was of the strong opinion that free and fair elections did not happen on the day of elections but something that must happen throughout the years.

Blowing the party’s horn, he said the PPP was the only party that was not guilty of indiscipline and that there could not be a single member of his party who could be pinpointed as having caused a problem.

The independent presidential candidate, Mr Jacob Osei-Yeboah condemned the use of violence for political power.

He opined profoundly that “political power should not be sought by the spilling of the blood of people”.

Mr Osei-Yeboah spoke of his 80-year-old mother who had metals lodged in her leg, adding that in her present condition, she would not be able to run in the event of a conflict.

He said he would, therefore, do everything within his power to contribute to the sustenance of peace before, during and after the elections.

Story by Donald Ato Dapatem & Musa Yahaya Jafaru