Barely two days from today, Ghana will once again be going to the polls to elect a president and 275 Members of Parliament for the next four years. This will be the eighth general election since the fourth republic was birthed in 1993.
Characteristically, all the elections have passed off smoothly with results declared and power alternating between the major political parties – the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
One major concern Ghanaians have had to contend with anytime the country goesto the polls has been the likelihood of violence caused by supporters of some of the political parties.
Some of these violent activities have come about at the instance of political actors, who push their followers to engage in violent conducts to their advantage, something which ultimately threatens the peace of the country.
It is for this reason that in spite of the countryhaving held seven elections, public-spirited Ghanaians, representing all shades of society, have appealed for peace before, during and after the December 7 elections.
It is also for the same reason that the flagbearers of the NPP and the NDC, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and former President John DramaniMahama respectively,signed a peace pact in Accra yesterday ahead of Monday’s polls.
The two sides, before signing the pact, which was initiated by the National Peace Council, pledged to commit to peace before, during and after the elections.
President Akufo-Addo said just as he committed to the peace pacts signed in the run-up to the 2012 and 2016 elections, he would commit to ensuring a peaceful election this year too.
He indicated that the nation had gone through a long and tortuous journey to get to the Fourth Republic and that the NPP would not do anything to undermine the peace and stability of the nation.
“It is in the interest of the political parties that there is not only an absence of violence but there is no tension, and that there is a truly peaceful atmosphere throughout the country,” President Akufo-Addo said at the ceremony which was witnessed by former President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, religious leaders, and other stakeholders.
Committing the opposition NDC to the pact, Former President Mahama said “elections are about counting heads and not cutting heads”.
He urged the security agencies, voters and all stakeholders to ensure law and order, and entreated security personnel who would be deployed to be in uniform with visible name tags and service numbers.
“It is our prayer that Ghana will once again be proven to be a beacon of democracy. We have done it before and we can do it again. Let there be peace in Ghana before, during and after the election,” he said.
Though this is not the first time the two leading candidates are penning their signatures to a peace pact, we expect that their coming together would send a strong signal to the citizenry that we are one and with a common destiny.
Though we recognise that almost all our elections have recorded some nasty incidents in the past, we still expect this year’s election to be incident-free because we remain brothers and sisters with a common destiny.
We cannot afford to descend into the situation where violence will replace the peaceful atmosphere we are currently enjoying because of who must lead us.
The signing of the pact must not only remain symbolic but one that must truly reflect in our deeds as we continue to remain a shining example to the world.
Let us all support the gesture shown by the leaders of the parties and ensure that peace reigns on Monday and beyond.
