President Nana Addo Dankwa AKufo-Addo has pledged to ensure peace and security as the nation goes to polls later this year to elect a President and Members of Parliament.
The President said political party violence which caused fear and apprehension during election periods would be severely dealt with by the government without any consideration.
He said the security agencies would fully enforce the laws on political party violence, popularly known as vigilantism and deal with culprits, no matter their political affiliations.
“If an NPP man causes a problem or assaults somebody in public, he should be dealt with as a citizen of Ghana, not as a member of the NPP. And it doesn’t matter the fact that the NPP has its President in office,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo said this in a meeting with members of the Christian Council at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday.
He said in the past, political coloration was given to certain untoward incidents and indicated that crime would not be given any political coloration this year.
He stressed the need to develop a culture where perpetrators of electoral violence were punished severely to allay the fears and apprehensions that usually associated with elections in Ghana.
“I am hoping that this year where I would be in charge of the process (of ensuring peace during the election), I can give an example that will make it possible for us in future not to look upon these quadrennial bouts of apprehension and fear,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo said Ghana was considered by the global community as a haven of peace on a “troubled continent” and “it makes you proud as a Ghanaian when those words are spoken to you”.
He gave the assurance that no matter the political affiliations of persons, once they fell foul of the law, the law would deal with them.
The Chairman of the Council, Most Rev Dr Kwabena Boafo, appealed to the President to use his office to ensure that the security agencies dealt with perpetrators of political violence.
“We humbly appeal that party communicators avoid politics of insults, the use of defamatory words, and avoid ethnocentric statements during election campaigns to help us sustain the peace we have enjoyed as a nation,” he said.
He said the election would be free and fair and the apprehension would be reduced when political actors commit to peace, with proper security in place.
The President and members of the council also discussed issues relating to terrorism in the region, especially attacks on churches, as well as the banking crises.
BY YAW KYEI
