SUSTAIN CULTURE OF DEMOCRACY — OPOKU-MENSAH (PAGE 15)

THE Western Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mr Stephen Opoku-Mensah, has called on Ghanaians to sustain the culture of the democracy prevailing in the country to facilitate free, fair and peaceful election.
He said ensuring peaceful elections was a collective responsibility of everybody and not the EC alone.
Mr Opoku-Mensah was speaking at a press briefing on forthcoming peace walk by two officers of the Western Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service towards peaceful elections in the country. They are Fireman John Domici Dadzie who is the main walker and is supported by Station Officer Joseph C. Ampiah.
Mr Opoku-Mensah said the Commission was committed to the delivery of free and fair elections as a means of advancing the course of democracy and good governance in the country.
He said through the development of a professionally competent workforce that would exhibit a high sense of personal integrity, the EC would work to achieve free and fair elections this year.
He further said the EC would build confidence and trust in the electoral system through transparent and verifiable electoral practices as well as treat all stakeholders in the elections fairly.
Mr Opoku-Mensah said one of the conditions that would be relevant to ensuring peaceful elections was that the various contestants in the elections should regard and respect one another as a legitimate aspirant to a political office.
"Our political parties, which say that they want free, fair and incident -free elections should be ready to abide by the rules of competitive democratic party politics and play it fair with one another," he emphasised, adding, "Our political parties should refrain from doing acts and playing ‘tricks’ that undermine or circumvent laid down rules and regulations."
The Ghanaian people as a whole, he said, should be prepared to exercise the self-discipline and vigilance required to prevent cheating at elections, while the media should be circumspect in their reportage.
Mr Opoku-Mensah called on the security agencies to check all forms of intimidation and keep the general peace in order to create the right atmosphere for democratic politics.