Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, says the leadership of the House is taking steps to engage all relevant stakeholders to ensure the December general elections are held peacefully and transparently.
He said the stakes in this year’s election are high and therefore required deliberate efforts to mobilise all stakeholders who have a role to play, to lead the campaign for a peaceful election.
Speaker Bagbin, who was speaking at an engagement with the media in Kumasi, said promoting a peaceful environment prior to and after the election must be the priority of every Ghanaian.
“I am not waiting for anybody. I have taken up the mantle with the support of leadership in parliament of both Members of Parliament and staff,” Mr. Bagbin said.
He said Parliament is reaching out to all stakeholders, indicating that he had already held a meeting with the Electoral Commissioner, Jean Mensa who gladly embraced the initiative.
“Leadership had also reached out to the Chief Justice and plans are also underway to engage the President on the need to ensure a peaceful, transparent, and credible election”, the Speaker further disclosed.
According to Mr. Bagbin, prominent traditional leaders including the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, have also been engaged to take keen interest in the crucial election to preserve the country’s enviable democratic dispensation.
He cautioned key actors, especially politicians not to take the peace in the country for granted, reminding them that, what was happening in Kenya could happen here if care was not taken.
“We should do all we can to make sure that the right person that Ghanaians want to lead us is elected in a peaceful atmosphere,” Mr. Bagbin reiterated.
He commended the media for their contributions to nurturing multi-party democracy, which had seen the transfer of power from one political party to the other in a volatile region prone to civil unrest.
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