Ghana's attorney general and minister of justice said President John Atta Mills' government is committed to ensuring the December general elections are peaceful and credible.
Benjamin Kumbuor said the administration is implementing measures to prevent electoral disputes, which he said often lead to violence and property destruction.
Voters register
Last week the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) concluded the process of compiling a list of prospective voters. The voter list is scheduled to be used in the presidential, legislative, and local elections.
The electoral body used a biometric system including taking people's thumbprints. This, it said, enables officials to maintain quality control of the registration process.
Kumbuor said since Ghana's latest embrace of democracy in 1993, the country learned what he said were triggers that could lead to election disputes and possible violence.
"One of the first things is to make sure that the controversy that normally surrounds the register was dealt with…The first lesson we learned from that was to see the extent to which the voters' register in some particular constituencies and regions have been bloated over the years," said Kumbuor.
"There is a very high level of commitment at all levels of government, to show clearly, by example, a leadership that we have a responsibility, to ensure that all the rules of democratic engagement, in relation to elections are observed to the letter."
Preventing violence
Kumbuor said the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on other political parties to renounce any violent rhetoric, which he said could plunge the country into chaos.
Kumbuor expressed concerns about politicians who see elections as a do-or-die affair, which, he said, defeats the tenets of democracy.
"The people are the judges, whether it is a government or opposition. The test for a government is to see whether it has delivered on its promises, or it has put in the mechanisms to ensure that its promises during the previous elections are delivered," said Kumbuor.
Bolstering security
Some observers have expressed concerns about politicians using insulting or violent rhetoric, which they said could undermine the country's peace. Kumbuor said security agencies are undergoing training to help prevent violence in the run up to the December vote.
"We have been getting our security agencies trained, re-trained and prepared… the security officers who will be manning the polling stations have to be trained in the law and the guidelines governing elections," said Kumbuor.
"We continue to make the people of Ghana see clearly that when you throw your country into a type of political inferno, you might end up not having a strong government...Throwing grenades and rockets and butchering each other is certainly not one of those values and social goods that a country would want."
Kumbuor said the administration is determined to ensure that all Ghanaians adhere to the rules of democratic engagements ahead of the poll.
He said the government, with help from the international donor community, has made funds available to INEC to organize the elections.
No comments:
Post a Comment