By Philip Tengzu
Wa, (UW/R), Nov. 11, GNA – The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) at the weekend held a peace walk in Wa to promote peace and unity among the various political parties in the Wa Central Constituency ahead of the 2024 general election.
Representatives of the political parties in the Constituency, beauticians, and some members of the public participated in the walk along some principal streets of Wa.
The participants wielded placards with inscriptions: “Election is all about development and not violence”; “Avoid the spread of fake news”; “We need each other for better Ghana” and “Distance yourself from misinformation and disinformation” among others.
Addressing the participants after the walk, Mr Nurideen Mumuni, the Wa Municipal Director of NCCE, urged the presidential and parliamentary candidates to desist from vote buying, as it constituted illegality and was punishable by law when apprehended.
He said the electorate should not trade their conscience and votes for money and perpetuating misinformation and disinformation since those acts were against the laws of Ghana.
Mr Mumuni said the exercise was also to create an opportunity for members of the various political parties to interact and promote unity among themselves and not to see people with dissenting views and different political ideologies as enemies.
He said elections were about the development of a country and election-related campaigns should be issue-based saying, “We are fighting for the interest of the people we seek to represent.”
On violent extremism, Mr Mumuni encouraged the public to be vigilant and swiftly report suspicious characters and their activities to the security agencies for prompt action.
“As we are about to go into the election, foreigners will come in, and as they come, we should try to watch out for suspicious characters and observe the activities and movements of those we live with.
With that we can identify and report any unusual person or action to the security agencies so they can fish them out for Ghana to remain peaceful”, Mr Mumuni said.
He urged the people to take responsibility for their personal security as ensuring peace and security was a shared responsibility.
The representatives of the political parties at the Walk, pledged their commitment to peace before, during, and after the election.
Prior to the peace walk, the NCCE had engaged faith-based and identifiable groups in the Wa Municipality on the need for tolerance and peaceful coexistence before, during and after the election.
GNA