Interior Minister assures of violence-free polls
The government will continue to put in place the necessary regulative framework for a violence-free atmosphere before, during and after the December 7 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, the Interior Minister, Mr Prosper Bani, has assured.
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He said the security agencies in the country had been adequately resourced with personnel and logistics, among other things, to ensure that the upcoming election became peaceful.
He said Ghana, since democratic dispensation in 1992, had gone through six successful elections, and was very optimistic that it would “pass the test this time also and continue to remain the beacon of hope in West Africa”.
Mr Bani, who was speaking at the 2016 end session general meeting of the National House of Chiefs (NHC) in Kumasi, called on the citizenry to abide by the rules and laws of the country in order not to face the wrath of the security agencies.
The minister was accompanied by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr John Kudalor; the Minister of Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs, Dr Henry Seidu Dannaa; the acting Director General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Mr Emmanuel Adzakor; and the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, COP Mr Kofi Boakye.
Hotspots
He said so far, out of the 29,000 polling stations nationwide, security agencies had identified 5003 hotspots, and that the security agencies were up to the task to scoop out any mischievous person or group of persons who had plans to interrupt the electoral process.
Mr Bani sent a word of caution to the so-called “Macho men” who move from polling station to polling station to disturb the sanctity of elections, and said such malfeasance would no longer be tolerated.
Open declaration
The President of the National House of Chiefs (NHC), Naa Professor John S. Nabila, condemned recent moves by some chiefs and traditional leaders, who openly declared support for parliamentary and presidential candidates ahead of the upcoming elections.
He said chiefs, even before Ghana gained independence, had been seen by persons with diverse religious and political inclinations as neutral, and urged them to preserve the status quo in order not to expose the chieftaincy institution to ridicule.
Sensationalism
Professor Nabila charged the media to be circumspect and also desist from sensational reportage, adding that such unethical behaviour could plunge the country into chaos.
He said the tenets of journalism enjoined practitioners to provide the public with factual, balanced and accurate information in an atmosphere of circumspection and professional integrity.
He further urged political party leaders and activists to be guarded in whatever they bring out, in order not to inflame passions.
