THE winner of the 2008 parliamentary election in the Akwatia Constituency, where six polling stations were rerun in the past few days, Dr Kofi Asare of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has extended an olive branch to Mr Baba Jamal, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the area, and other candidates who contested the election with him.
He also appealed to traditional authorities and religious leaders to help heal the wounds and rifts among the people, particularly among supporters of the NPP and the NDC.
That, he stressed, would encourage the people, regardless of their political affiliation, to come together and join hands with him to plan towards the rapid socio-economic development of Akwatia and its surrounding communities.
"I will like to extend a hand of friendship to Baba Jamal and others who contested with me in the election to put behind our political differences and forge ahead in unity as leaders to set a good example for our supporters to emulate," he stated.
In a telephone interview with the Daily Graphic shortly after being declared the winner of the seat, Dr Asare stated “we must learn to let go the past bickering, tension, hatred and tribalism to enable us to once again unite and peacefully co-exist with one another”.
“While we must strongly disapprove and condemn in no uncertain terms the unnecessary tension and violence sparked off in Akwatia by the election, we must also not lose focus that we are one people with a common interest,” he stated.
According to Dr Asare, the December, 2008 general election and its rerun in the Akwatia Constituency sparked off unnecessary tension and violent acts that affected the relative peace and unity in the area.
Such unfortunate incidents, he stressed, had not only destroyed the cordial relationship existing among the people, but also slowed down the area’s socio-economic progress.
The Member of Parliament (MP)-elect said his election as the new MP for the area after eight months, should provide the people with a new opportunity to come together and forgive wrongs done them to enable them to contribute meaningfully to the area’s development.
“As an elected MP not representing only the NPP but also the entire Akwatia Constituency, I hope that all hostilities will end regardless of whether you voted for me or not,” he appealed.
Dr Asare added that “we must all be ashamed of the needless violence, since politics is not a contest of brutal force or fight between two political parties and their followers, but rather an expression of ideas and who can better manage the natural resources to the betterment of the town and its people”.
He described the tension and violence that engulfed the entire Akwatia town as shameful, saying “who will we have served if we had succeeded in maiming or killing one another in the name of party politics”.
Touching on his priorities towards the area’s development, Dr Asare expressed his readiness to consult the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Eastern Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) to get an investor to resuscitate the Ghana Consolidated Diamond Limited (GCD) at Akwatia to provide gainful employment for the people.
He, however, expressed worry about the number of voters who were denied the opportunity to exercise their franchise, attributing the problem to lapses in the electoral process, which allowed people to impersonate
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