Accra, Aug. 12, GNA – The Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) have underscored the need to build public confidence in the security agencies and the judicial system.
According to the two civil society organisations, said the public loss of confidence in such institutions was dangerous and could spark the rise of public justice.
The two institutions made the appeal in Accra at a roundtable on Preventing Election Violence Before, During and After 2020 General Elections.
The forum, which was on the theme: “Let’s Crack the Whip”, was organised by CDD-Ghana and CODEO in collaboration with the National Peace Council (NPC).
It created a platform for stakeholders in elections to brainstorm on securing a violent-free electoral and political environment through the enforcement of existing laws.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo assented to the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999) last year while the NPC had secured the commitment of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and other stakeholders to implement the “Roadmap and Code of Conduct for the Eradication of Political Vigilantism”.
Speaking at the forum, Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu, the Acting Co-Chair of CODEO, said the issue of selective justice, which leads to impunity, needed to be addressed.
Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu, who is also the Spokesperson for the National Chief Imam, said there was increased violence and cautioned politicians to desist from turning the youth into tools for attacking their political opponents.
“In matters relating to elections, there is a need to build a mindset that rejects violence as a means of retaining political power,” he added.
Nana Kwabena Aborampah Mensah, Team Leader, Local and Urban Governance and Security Sector Governance at CDD-Ghana, said an analysis of the just ended voter registration exercise captured under a media scan, indicated that there were 20 incidents.
He said these were categorized into three groups; minor incidents which cover threats of violence and abuse of language; moderate incidents which had to do with the attempted disruption of the exercise; and major incidents covering gunshots, destruction of properties and burning of vehicles.
He said out of the 20 incidents, 14 fell under the major incident which was high as compared to previous years, hence, the need for all stakeholders to be alert.
Mr George Amoh, the Acting Executive Secretary of NPC, also cautioned the public not to use ethnicity as one of the ways of mobilizing support for their political ambitions, saying “we will end up destroying this country”.
Madam Hilda Kafui Craig, Senior State Prosecutor at the Attorney General’s Department, said the lack of key stakeholders appreciation of electoral laws and the understanding of the procedures in the justice delivery system led to delays in the prosecution of election-related cases.
She recommended regular training on electoral laws and offences to sharpen the skills of stakeholders in the justice delivery system.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Sayibu Pabi Gariba, who is a Director of Operations of the Ghana Police Service, said the objective of the National Election Security Architecture (NESA) was to provide a forum for security agencies to impartially deal with all election-security related issues in a coordinated manner.
He said the Police Service maintained its position that vigilantism was a threat to national security and integration, saying, “the threat of vigilantism must be countered with all the might”.
GNA