By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, Sept 3, GNA – Speakers at the Speaker of Parliament Seminal Lecture have emphasised the need for state institutions to build trust amongst themselves to effectively cooperate and collaborate in working together to ensure free, fair, credible and peaceful polls this December.
They argued that there was a deep lack of trust in institutional processes, which was not healthy for the country’s democracy, hence the need for openness to help build trust amongst institutions as the country inched closer to the general election in December.
The Speaker’s Seminal Lecture, organised in Tamale over the weekend by the Office of the Speaker of Parliament as part of activities to celebrate 30 years of Ghana’s parliament under the Fourth Republic and the country’s democracy, created the platform for a healthy discourse on an issue of national importance.
The lecture, attended by traditional and religious leaders, the academia, representatives of civil society organisations, political parties, media, students amongst other stakeholders, delved into practical strategies for building trust and transparency in the electoral process, addressing potential challenges such as misinformation, voter intimidation and electoral violence.
It was on the theme: “Working Together, Building Trust for Free, Fair, Credible and Peaceful Elections: The Role of Stakeholders.”
Mr Alban Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, in an address during the lecture, said: “We all have roles to play to ensure that the elections do not become a platform for the defilement of the sanity and sanctity of our already suffocating democracy.”
He added “Good governance is the responsibility of all stakeholders. Trust is key; a very important ingredient in human relations. This ingredient is gradually eluding us in Ghana. We cannot achieve a free, fair, credible and peaceful election without trust.”
He said, “So, to achieve this goal of having free, fair and credible elections, we must work together to build trust in ourselves, and our institutions of state.”
He urged leaders to lead with integrity telling voters to choose leaders “That will help build the Ghana we want.”
Professor Emmanuel Kwesi Aning, a Security Consultant, delivering his lecture, expressed the need for critical state institutions and their stakeholders to work together, saying trust must be the fulcrum around which every decision would be taken.
He said trust was necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the work of critical state institutions and expressed the need for individuals and institutions to be true to their responsibilities to achieve peace in this year’s elections.
He spoke against violence during elections and condemned the killing of eight persons during the 2020 general election, saying such acts must not be repeated during this year’s elections.
Mr. Kofi Bentil, a Private Legal Practitioner and Vice President of IMANI Africa, in his lecture, called on all including chiefs, and the leadership of the security agencies to work together to maintain the peace in the country.
Mr. Samuel Tettey, Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission in charge of Operations, gave assurance that the Commission would conduct this year’s elections in an atmosphere that would reflect the will of the people.
Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister, described the Speaker’s Seminal Lecture as “very appropriate and key to our democratic journey as it offers a unique platform for stakeholders and members of the public to deliberate, learn and share ideas on national issues of great concern.”
He said the Regional Security Council was working with various stakeholders to consolidate the peace of the region in the run-up to, during and after the elections.
GNA