Be good ambassadors - Ghanaians living abroad urged
The High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Professor Kwaku Danso-Boafo, has called on Ghanaians living abroad to be good ambassadors of their motherland and comport themselves within the laws of their countries of residence at all times.
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He was receiving a petition from members of a group who identified themselves as Concerned Ghanaians against Electoral Fraud (COGEF)-UK last Friday, after they had held a peaceful demonstration in front of the Ghana High Commission in London.
The group is calling for a “speedy resolution” of the case filed at the Supreme Court in Accra by the NPP presidential candidate, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo against the result of the 2012 Presidential election.
The demonstrators also called on the British Government and the European Union to take steps to ensure that the electoral petition trial was expedited and dealt with according to the rule of law.
A leading member of COGEF, Mr Hayford Attah-Krufi, who presented the petition, said “It must be stressed that the long delay by the Supreme Court in resolving this election dispute had not only led to heightened tension but was also negatively affecting foreign direct investment into the country.
He said Ghana had no doubt become a beacon of peace, stability and democracy in Africa and should not be allowed to fall into the abyss of internal strife, conflict and destruction.
Professor Danso-Boafo commended the COGEF for the peaceful manner in which they carried out the demonstration and assured the members that their concerns would be forwarded to the appropriate authorities back home.
Last Friday, some Ghanaians living in London took to the streets in protest over what they claimed to be the worsening living conditions in Ghana.
The protesters were also worried over the seeming delays in the presidential election petition at the Supreme Court.
The group, adorned in the colours of Ghana's national flag, chanted and sang on the streets of London, demanding a speedy trial and an end to corruption in the country.
“Under normal circumstances, it doesn’t take three months for interlocutories to be served…We know even within this week the number of delay tactics the respondents have been trying to apply.
"...So we know there are going to be delays that is why we are trying to strengthen the hands of the Supreme Court,” one of the protesters told Citi News.
“We want the whole world to know what is going on in Ghana,” another said.
Others insisted the 2012 December elections were not credible.
The protesters were not the least discouraged by the early showers. They poured out in their numbers to make their voices heard.