Political parties contesting in this year’s election have pledged to defend the peace in the country as the nation goes to the polls on December 7, 2020 to elect a President and two hundred and seventy-five (275) members of Parliament (MPs).
The political parties made the declaration yesterday at the Perez Dome in Accra where the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG), the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), Ghana Catholic Bishop’s Conference (GCBC), Ghana Charismatic Bishop’s Conference (GCBC), National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches (NACCC) and other Christian bodies declared a week-long fasting and prayer ahead of the polls.
The event was on the theme: “Seek Peace and Pursue It” taken from the Bible verse, (1Peter 3:11).
The Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister, Madam Elizabeth Sackey, who represented the President of the Republic of Ghana and the Flag-bearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, said the President and the NPP were committed to ensuring peace before, during and after the general election.
“It is our obligation to ensure peace before, during and after the election. We believe the battle is the Lord’s,” she said.
Sylvester Mensah, who represented the flag-bearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, said his party was equally committed to peace ahead of the polls, adding that the NDC shied away from violence during the Ayawaso West bye-election because it was committed to peace.
“We stand by that and it is our hope that we continue to maintain the peace and no provocation would generate or trigger reactions that will breach the peace of this country,” he firmly assured.
The Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Progressive People’s Party, Kofi Asamoah-Siaw, also urged Ghanaians to love one another and desist from violence.
The leader and founder of the LPG, Kofi Akpalo, said “whether the devil likes it or not, there will be peace in the country after the election,” affirming his party’s commitment to peace.
The Chairman of National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches (NACCC), Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, called for drastic approach to dealing with persons that will fuel violence in the country.
“We must deal with the authorities behind violence. Somebody is responsible for the behind the scene.”
“I’ve been around for some decades and I have seen a lot of elections in this country. One of the first things I acknowledged as a young preacher was during the time of President Hilla Limann. My father was then the General Secretary of the CPP and a lot of things happened in our house. I saw the tensions, the stealing, the conspiracies, mischief, the devices of men and how they were meeting day and night and how plotting took place and I saw the outcome of that particular election,” he recounted.
“I’ve seen a lot of elections after then and every four years, we come to this place of tension and the feelings of fear,” he added.
To this end, Archbishop Duncan-Williams stressed that until “we change the way we do our politics, the kind of uncertainty that takes place every four years won’t stop.”
“The UN has failed because they are using the wrong approach. The reason why they’ve failed is because peace is not a commodity; it is a personality and his name is the Prince. Peace can never be obtained by negotiations but through prayer,” he said.
The man of God, therefore, prayed that Heaven arrests anyone and event that aims at disturbing the peaceful outcome of the upcoming election.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Ebenezer Madugu