CREDIBLE AND PEACEFUL ELECTIONS ARE KEY INDICATORS OF DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE- NCCE DIRECTOR ACKNOWLEDGED

The Western Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has stated collinearly that credible and peaceful elections are undeniably very crucial indicators for democracy and good governance.
The statement was made during an inauguration of a 21-member Inter-Party Dialogue Committee (IPDC) at the Tarkwa-Nsuaem municipality to provide effective dialogue platforms for major stakeholders to engage with all registered political parties in order to promote peace before, during and after the forthcoming 2016 general elections in Ghana.
In a welcome address, the Municipal Director Mr. Peter D’yaka underscored the fact that NCCE as one of the independent governance institutions mandated to promote democracy needed to work in close relation with all stakeholders including civil society organizations, religious leaders, and all the registered political parties, individual Ghanaians to ensure credible and peaceful elections. It was therefore very appropriate to establish the IPDC as a body comprising all the key players to facilitate effective monitoring of political parties activities and ensure they adhere to their code of conduct during campaigns.
Mr. D’yaka also appealed to the media as a critical stakeholder in peace building to safeguard Ghana’s political stability since 1992, and desist from offering their platforms to politicians who considers their personal gains as paramount above the nation.
He made open the desire expressed by “Socioserve-Ghana”, a local NGO working in the area of governance, peace and security to organize capacity building trainings for members of the committee and also support their activities that will lead to nonviolence elections.
Mr. Alphonso Arthur, the regional director who spoke on the core functions of the IPDC emphasized on dialogue as the best alternative to maintaining peace for stable democracy and good governance. He said the aftermaths of disputed elections are often characterized with the destructions of national properties and very serious conflicts leading to civil wars. Clear examples he cited were the May, 2011 political unrest in La Cote d’ Voire and the 1994 Rwanda’s national coercion which led to a genocide of about 800, 000 innocent and armless civilians mostly women and children.
Mr. Arthur reminded the committee that Ghana has had six (6) successful general elections since the 1992 Forth Republican Constitution and peaceful transfer of political power from a ruling party to an opposition party in the year 2000 and 2008. These, coupled with the maturity exhibited in handling the 2013 Supreme Court verdict, have indeed made Ghana a beacon of democratic governance beyond the African Continent. Regardless of our outstanding democratic records, it is surprising to hear some politicians still engage in politics of insults, used of intemperate language, unsubstantiated allegations, plain lies and other political conducts which have the tendency of pushing the country into violence during election year. The conducts of these individuals or groups provide enough justifications for the formation of Inter-Party Dialogue Committee, a unifying body that acts as buffer zones in the various constituencies to stem the tide of unnecessary suspicious and anxiety among political parties.
The 21-member committee comprises of representatives from the Muslims and Christian Councils, the Traditional Council, the Electoral Commission (EC), Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Ghana Police Service, Chairpersons and Secretaries of the existing registered political parties in the Constituency including PPP, CPP, NDC, NPP, and PNC.
The rest includes Information Services Department (ISD), National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), General Managers of Pure FM, Dynamite FM, Medeama FM and Space FM, as well as Representatives from the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Assembly and the National Youth Authority.
Mr. Iddrisu Musah from the Muslims Council was elected as Chairman for the Committee whiles the 1st Vice Chairman and Secretary Positions respectively went to Mr. Ben Sowah from the Christian Council and Peter D’yaka of the NCCE.

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