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‘Outcome of election petition must be victory for all’

The Upper West Regional Police Commander, ACP Kwesi Mensah Duku ( fourth from left) and other police officers with representatives of political parties and members of the media.The anticipated verdict of the Supreme Court on the December 2012 presidential election petition should not be a victory for any individual or political party, but a victory for the country's electoral system and its democracy.

To this end, both the winner and the loser, which could be either the New Patriotic Party (NPP) or the National Democratic Congress (NDC), must accept the ruling of the Supreme Court in good faith and stand firmly by whoever is declared winner by the court.

The Upper West Regional Organiser of the NDC, Mr Adams Issahaque, who was contributing to a discussion during a meeting between the regional police command and representatives of the various political parties, gave an assurance that the NDC was already preparing the minds of its followers to come to terms with the ruling of the Supreme Court.

He added that a team from the headquarters of the NDC would visit the region to interact with members of the party in that regard.

The meeting, which attracted representatives from the NPP, NDC, PNC and the PPP, was to enable the police to share ideas with the various political parties on how best to sustain the peace in the region without any infractions after the declaration of the presidential election petition verdict.

The Upper West Regional Second vice-Chairman of the NPP, Mr Hafiz Bin Salih, for his part, commended the police for the initiative and said political parties in the region were so united that nothing untoward would occur.

He, however, advised the police not to be complacent.

Mr Bin Salih condemned the practice where supporters of parties who won elections wore the colours of the losing political parties for their celebrations and stressed that the practice must stop.

Earlier, the Upper West Regional Police Commander, ACP Kwesi Mensah Duku, noted that like every contest, there would definitely be a loser and a winner.

"The winners would by all means celebrate while the losers would feel peeved but in our celebrations, we must not create problems," he emphasised and appealed to the leadership of the political parties  to educate and restrain their supporters.

ACP Mensah Duku said the strength of the police in the region had been boosted with 140 police personnel within the last two weeks and that his outfit was firm on the ground to deal with any unexpected eventualities.

Describing the media as a major stakeholder in sustaining the peace in the region and the country at large, Mr Mensah Duku appealed to media practitioners to refrain from castigating the judiciary and also be circumspect in their reportage after the ruling of the Supreme Court.

He further warned that anybody who tried to make the work of the security agencies difficult by disturbing the peace of the country would not be spared.

By Chris Nunoo/Daily Graphic/Ghana

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