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Restrain your party supporters from using firearms - EU
appeals
Tamale, Oct. 10, Ghanadot/GNA - Ambassadors of the European
Union (EU) in Ghana, have urged political party flagbearers
and their parliamentary candidates to restrain their
supporters from engaging in violent acts, especially with
the use of firearms as nation prepares for the December 7,
election.
The EU also called on political parties to discuss with the
police the best way to reduce the number of illegal firearms
in circulation, especially in the Northern Region.
The eight-member EU delegation, made the call at a press
conference in Tamale on Thursday, after completing a two-day
mission for peaceful elections in the Northern Region.
Members of the delegation were Mr Filiberto Ceriani
Sebregondi, Head of the EU in Ghana, Mr Francis Hurtut, the
French Ambassador, Miroslav Krenek, Ambassador of the Czech
Republic, Julia Olmo, Spanish Ambassador and Hans Christian
Winkler, Counsellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The EU delegation, as part of its mission to the region, met
and interacted with political party representatives,
traditional and religious leaders, and civil society groups.
They also visited some polling stations in the region.
The delegation said it was pleased to note that all parties
recognized that fraud and violence would be detrimental to
the electoral process as well as the image and interest of
Ghana.
It, therefore, called for the successful cleaning of the
voters’ register to the satisfaction of all stakeholders
saying that an irreproachable registration was one of the
most important conditions for uncontested results after
elections.
The EU said it was prudent that political parties send their
representatives to the various polling stations for the
ongoing voter’s register cleaning exercise.
It said, in spite of, which party won the December election,
Ghana had demonstrated that it was a real democratic state
where both the majority and the minority had crucial roles
to play.
“We acknowledge the deep need for justice expressed in many
occasions by our interlocutors, and rules must be applied
impartially to everyone and anybody but contestants must
start from the principal that the opponent is talking in
good faith in a spirit of mutual respect”, the EU members
said.
The ambassadors said their main objective was to support
Ghana in having a peaceful and transparent electoral process
and noted that this was also the wish of all the
stakeholders they had interacted with and who had called for
an EU electoral observation mission.
“We do hope that Ghana will use for the best of its interest
this new opportunity to offer to Europe and the
international community the image of a mature and stable
country with not only exceptional human and natural
resources but a sound democracy”, the EU said.
GNA
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