Wenchi (B/R), Oct. 29, GNA – Election stakeholders in the Wenchi Municipality of the Bono Region have commended the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) for the intensified efforts to control election violence in the country.
The stakeholders comprise representatives of political parties, youth and women groups, traditional rulers and assembly members and religious organisations.
They said election violence threatened national peace and stability, indicating that efforts made by the NCCE to intensify public education on election violence and extremism were highly commendable.
The stakeholders gave the commendation at an engagement meeting of the Inter-Party Dialogue Committee (IPDC) held at Wenchi organised by the NCCE with support from the National Security.
It was aimed at sensitizing the populace on the consequences of violence and extremism to help control election violence and issues that threatened the peace of the nation.
The stakeholders, however, expressed worry about the rising rate of youth unemployment in the country, which, according to them, provided the grounds for terrorist groups to influence and lure the teeming unemployed youth into terrorism and political violence.
Warrant Officer Grade One Adjei-Darkwah (Retired), a National Security official, noted political violence and extremism remained unhealthy in national development processes and called concerted and collective efforts to preserve the prevailing peace of the country.
He underscored the importance for everybody to guard against behaviours that threatened peace and stability and mentioned land and chieftaincy disputes, corruption and marginalisation as some of the factors that triggered violence and disturb societal peace.
WOI Adjei-Darkwah advised parents to be watchful of the movements of their children and be cautious of the friends they make.
Mr Peter Kwabena Gyasi, the Deputy Bono Regional Director of NCCE, who took the participants through the Public Order Act, entreated the youth to guard against lawlessness and rather handed over suspected criminals to the police.
He urged election stakeholders to endeavour to use dialogue in settling their differences and opted for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
GNA