Ensure free, fair election in 2024 - Presby Moderator tells EC
The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), Rt Rev. Dr Abraham Nana Opare-Kwakye has urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to conduct the 2024 general election in a free and fair manner.
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This, he said, would help sustain the peace and democracy of the country.
Addressing the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Kwahu Presbytery of the church at Abetifi in the Kwahu East District in the Eastern Region last Saturday (December 16), the Moderator said it was important for the EC to deliver clean electoral results so that everybody, especially political leaders, would be satisfied and would not resort to any actions that could disturb the peace of the country.
Prayer
Rt. Rev. Dr Opare-Kwakye called on Ghanaians, especially Christians, to pray for a peaceful conduct of the 2024 general election.
He said although previous elections in the Fourth Republic had been generally peaceful, current circumstances demanded fervent prayers for the next elections to once again end peacefully.
He also appealed to Christian leaders to use their pulpits to preach peace and peaceful co-existence among the various political parties, saying that would also contribute to the peaceful conduct of next year's elections.
Background
The PCG established its first congregation at Abetifi in 1876 to spread its mission in the Kwahu area after which many congregations were subsequently set up.
It was later upgraded to the status of a Presbytery 50 years ago when it was carved out from the mother Akyem-Kwahu Presbytery to respond to growth of the church in the area.
The event, held on the theme: "50 Years of Glorious Mission in Christ, The Past, The Present and the Future", was attended by top clergymen, the laity, some traditional rulers, politicians and top businessmen.
Peaceful eletion
Rt Rev. Dr Opare-Kwakye said Ghana was undergoing democratic changes of which general election had to be conducted every four years as such all the political parties should play their expected roles with respect to making the elections peaceful.
He expressed the hope that since Ghana was a united country, next year's elections would be, as usual, peaceful to set the example for other countries to follow.
With regard to the development of the PCG, he said it had grown since its establishment in the country over a century ago.
He said although the Basel Missionaries from Europe introduced the church in Ghana of which many Africans were converted, the Africans played a significant role in assisting the Basel Missionaries in planting churches and ensured their development and growth not only in Ghana but Africa as a whole.
The Chairman of the Kwahu Presbytery, Rev. Enoch Kofi Obuobi, traced the history of the church in the Kwahu area since its establishment in 1876 based on the report of the Basel Missionary, the late Rev. Fritz Ramseyer, to Basel about the mission upon which the church established its foothold in the area.