Accra, Nov. 04, GNA – Ahead of the December 7 polls, Trans4orm Network, Ghana, a youth empowerment and peacebuilding organisation, has called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to intensify public education on the electoral processes.
Mr Vincent Azumah, Chair of the Board of Advisors of the Network, in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the EC must, especially, intensify voter education on the 30,000 names quarantined in the voters register.
It must also educate the public on the expansion of the 33,367 polling stations nationwide to 40,000.
He noted that even though the 30,000 names were legally quarantined, any of those persons who may not be aware of it and would, therefore, not be eligible to vote until cleared, could create conflict at the polling station.
“It is even more dangerous if any of these quarantined names happens to be in any of the Electoral Commission’s identified 9,600 polling stations regarded as hotspots,” he said.
Mr Azumah was addressing the second in the series of peace concerts dubbed: “Volta for Peace,” organised by Tosh Media and Trans4orm Network, Ghana, at Dzodze in the Ketu North District of the Volta Region.
He said all the 16,000 persons found to have engaged in double registration should be investigated, promptly prosecuted, and widely publicised to serve as a deterrent to would be offenders.
Mama Awoamefi, Queenmother of Afife, speaking on behalf of queenmothers in the Ketu North Traditional Area, advised the youth to identify good politicians from bad ones.
“The good politician is the one who will seek your welfare and development. The bad one is the one who will give you few cedis and hard drugs and ask you to commit violent acts while their children are protected in the comfort of their homes,” she said.
Mama Awoamefi called on politicians to control their supporters before, during and after the polls to ensure peace.
Togbe Akutu II of Dzodze Afeyieme, who spoke on behalf of the chiefs, called on the media to be circumspect in their reportage to maintain the peace Ghana was privileged to have.
He said some media houses provided the avenue for some politicians to use intemperate languages, adding:
“This is one way by which we could slip into violence”.
Togbe Akutu pledged the support of the chiefs in the area to ensure the peace initiative by Tosh Media and Trans4orm Ghana achieved its objective.
Launching the Volta for Peace concert in Ho, Reverend Seth Mawutor, Chairman of the Volta Regional Peace Council, expressed delight that the initiative would help prevent electoral violence through the medium of musical performances.
“Music, as they say, is a universal language and using music as a medium to communicate the values of peace and peaceful mindedness can only lead to universal compliance,” he said.
Rev Mawutor called on all to entrench Ghana’s democratic ethos by using non-violent approaches to address any grievance.
The Volta for peace concert, which put together over 25 young artistes, is led by the Chief Executive Officer of Tosh Media, Tony D, also the Chairman of MUSIGHA in the Volta Region.
All the 25 artistes performed songs composed specifically for a peaceful 2020 election.
GNA