THE Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Ofosu Asamoah, has appealed to political leaders and their followers to refrain from preaching violence during thier campaigns.
He said politicians must not perceive this year’s election as a “do-or-die affair” saying “unguided and divisive utterances did not only create tension and panic, but also creates a bad impression about the country to the outside world.”
Mr Asamoah was speaking at a closing ceremony of a three-day capacity building workshop on peace building and conflict resolution in Koforidua on Wednesday.
The event, attended by members of the Eastern Regional Peace Advisory Council, afforded the participants the opportunity to acquire knowledge on topical issues such as identification and analysis of root causes of conflicts in the region, dynamics of conflicts, mediation processes and principles, trust and confidence building, among others.
Mr Asamoah said since peace and respect for the people’s rights were indispensable ingredients to enable the country to achieve a middle income status, the government was making every effort to ensure the conduct of a free and fair election in December.
“Accordingly, the government will not do anything that will mar the peace and stability that we are enjoying”, he said.
He, therefore, expressed the readiness of the government to rely on the members of the Peace Council to help it to maintain the unity and peace currently prevailing in the country.
The deputy regional minister also entreated the members of the Peace Council to use the skills and knowledge they had acquired to help address the various root causes of conflicts to ensure the conduct of violence-free election in the region.
“Let us be guided by the fact that there are people who delight in causing unnecessary commotion and will do all that they can to derail the peaceful elections. We should however not be daunted when these challenges come our way”, he urged the members.
“Such challenges should rather spur us on to move forward. What we will require of you is commitment, neutrality, selflessness and a sense of patriotisms”, Mr Asamoah emphasised.
He gave the assurance that the Eastern Regional Co-ordinating Council would continue to liaise with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Interior to ensure that the Peace Council was provided with the necessary support to enable it to achieve the purpose for which it was set up.
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