By Lawrencia Akoto Frempong
Tema, Nov. 18, GNA – The Hope Congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), Sakumono, has organised a political discourse on peaceful elections for the church members and the electorates in the Tema West Municipality.
The discourse under the theme “One Ghana, One People” discussed electoral violence and the role of the church in the promotion of peaceful general elections in Ghana.
Reverend Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Religious Studies at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), noted that the country has successfully organised eight elections under the fourth republic for the past 30 years with relatively peaceful transfers of power from governing parties to opposition parties.
Rev. Dr Opuni-Frimpong stated that even though the country has seen peaceful elections and transitions for the past years, some electoral violence was recorded and, in some cases, resulted in electoral deaths.
“Our soil must not keep drinking the blood of the innocent during general elections because elections are about the identification of leadership, and leadership is about
service, so why then should the search for leaders lead to the deaths of citizens?” he said.
He mentioned that cheating, violence, ethnocentrism, monetisation, manipulation, and dictatorship of the majority were the common drivers of electoral conflicts in the country.
Rev. Opuni- Frimpong explained that cheating starts with the registration of electorates, resulting in violence within the political parties, especially the two main political parties, in the form of hate speech, insults, and the use of abusive language.
He added that the church can contribute to peaceful elections through advocacy, public education, and sensitisation of the public, adding that churches could also organise eminent personalities for intervention, mediation, and reconciliation while providing Christian ministry and spiritual support.
He also reiterated that the perception that politics is circular and not spiritual and therefore churches should not be involved, coupled with the lack of capacity of leaders in the electoral management processes, were some of the challenges facing the churches in the promotion of peace.
He urged Ghanaians to seek peace and prosperity of the land, while advising religious leaders not to be partisan or ethnocentric in their administration of peaceful lectures and teachings.
Mr Fidel Bortey, the Tema West Municipal Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), stated that the commission was engaging the communities in the municipality on voter education, sensitising the electorates on how to vote and the essence of peaceful elections and dangers in electoral violence.
He said the commission has realised that most politicians use money to influence or buy votes from the electorates, so the electorates do not listen to the messages they are bringing but base their decision on the money being offered.
He said, “People are now demanding huge monies from these politicians, and this fosters corruption because the money disbursed to be used for developmental purposes in the communities is being used for campaigns, retarding the country’s development”.
Mr Bortey noted that money in politics retards the country’s development growth, and it is therefore time Ghanaians desist from such acts and rather take politicians on according to the policies and visions they have for the communities.
He again stated that the spread of false information during the election period brought mistrust among the people and caused violence, adding that political tolerance should not be disregarded in the communities and within religious organisations.
He also urged all electorates in the constituency and the country to exercise their right to vote as it was their civic responsibility.
The NCCE director said that the constitution explains that sovereignty of the state lays in the hands of the citizens; therefore, it was time for them to exercise those rights, encouraging all registered voters in the constituency to visit their various polling stations on the day of the elections to vote and make sure to maintain peace.
GNA