By Yussif Ibrahim
Juaso (Ash), Sept. 2, GNA – Members of the newly inaugurated Inter-Party Dialogue Committee (IPDC) for Asante-Akim North have pledged their unwavering commitment to ensuring a peaceful election in the district.
The committee, comprising representatives of religious and traditional councils, political parties, security agencies, persons with disability, and women and youth groups, said it was their civic duty to complement efforts of state institutions in ensuring peace.
The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), as part of efforts to mobilise stakeholders for peace advocacy this election year, inaugurated the committee at Agogo aimed to bring key actors in the elections together to address emerging issues collectively.
Mr Seth Obeng-Asiedu, the District Director of NCCE, said the Commission’s mandate covered the formation of the IPDC to provide a platform for stakeholders to take proactive steps to diffuse tension and resolve conflicts in election years.
Issues such as misinformation, disinformation, and violence could potentially mar the impending election, hence the need to put together the IPDC to address such issues, which often threatened the electoral process.
The committee would serve as a local peace council by providing a common platform where grievances between political parties and the Electoral Commission (EC) would be resolved.
Mr Obeng-Asiedu reminded members of the committee of the key roles they could play to maintain peace as a civic responsibility.
Mr Francis Ohene Komfa, the District Director of EC, underlined the importance of political parties having trained agents well-versed in the electoral processes to ensure sanity at polling stations.
Party executives must also counsel their supporters on electoral violence and its consequences, he advised.
Nana Owusu Ansah, a representative of the Agogo Traditional Council, said fairness and transparency on the part of the EC was critical to peaceful elections, and urged the election management body to provide a level playing field for all parties.
GNA
