– President Akufo Addo Calls for Peaceful Elections
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that there is nothing inherently dirty or corrupt about politics, adding that nothing about elections should generate violence.
He, therefore, called on politicians and members of political parties to make politics and elections the serious and joyful phenomenon they should be.
He said this in his 2024 State of the Nation Address to Parliament last Tuesday.
“Politics, after all, has been described as the art of the possible, and, if that is what we are engaged in, it should not be beyond us to resolve the problems that come up, and concentrate on working to build the happy and prosperous country we want”, he said.
On the back of the political upheavals in some countries in the West African Subregion, the President asked Ghanaians, particularly politicians to uphold the tenets of democracy which the country has subscribed to for the past 32 years.
“Mr. Speaker, democracies are founded on elections, and the holding of free and credible elections ensure that people have confidence in the government that emerges at the end of the process”, he reiterated.
As the December 7 Presidential and Parliamentary elections approaches, the President charged the Electoral Commission to work with the political parties to iron out whatever problems they have to ensure credible elections.
Said President Akufo-Addo: “The Honourable Members of this House, who are at the centre of it all, know more than the rest of us that this is an election year. The increased decibel level in all communications would ensure that even the most politically uninterested person among us would know that, on December 7, we shall be going to the polls to elect a new President and Members of Parliament. A lot of the responsibility lie on the Electoral Commission to put the organisation in place that would ensure that we have credible elections”.
A lot of responsibilities, he said, also lie on the political parties to demonstrate that competitive elections are an honourable, character enhancing experience, “and, at the end of the process, the loser will congratulate the winner, and the world does not come to an end because an election has been lost”.
President Akufo-Addo assured Ghanaians that he will do everything in his power to help ensure the conduct of transparent, free and fair elections on December 7. He added that Government, on its part, will do what is expected of it to make sure that the reputation of Ghana is not damaged, and the free will of the people is manifested at the end of the electoral process.
“I have confidence in the security services to ensure that those who might want to cause havoc or any kind of mischief to disrupt the electoral process will have no room to operate”, he said.
On the ongoing conflict in Bawku, the President lamented that the once thriving and dynamic town is being reduced to a wasteland of destruction and distrust. Apart from this, he stated that the nation is spending money and energy that would have been better spent on development needs of Bawku, providing security to keep brothers and sisters from killing each other.
“Mr Speaker, what should concern all of us and not just the people of Bawku is that, in its current state, Bawku is an alluring magnet to mischief makers and extremists operating a few kilometres across from the border. Government is determined to do all it can to ensure there is security in every inch of the territory of our country, but it also is very much up to the citizens to help create the needed atmosphere, and I am, thus, appealing to all citizens to take the See Something, Say Something campaign of the Ministry of National Security very seriously,” he added.
