Dornu-Nartey Calls For Consensus In Democratic Process

Sekondi, Aug 26, -- Mr Richard Dornu-Nartey, Member of Parliament (MP) for Shama, today called on all stakeholders in the democratic process to adopt consensus building to further the country's development. Mr Dornu-Nartey, who is also majority chief whip, made the call at a symposium organized by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) on the theme, ''Practicalising Democratic Culture - Current Issues'' in Sekondi. He said consensus building which entails dialogue, negotiation and compromise, is in the best interest of the nation as the government is making every effort to improve living standards and promote democratic culture. He said adversarial and confrontational politics must not be allowed to disrupt development and all Ghanaians must be guided by national interests to stabilize the democratic culture. Mr J.E. Abaka, MP for Effia-Kwasimintsim, spoke on ''The Multi- party System in the Current Democratic Practice in Ghana''. He urged the government and the opposition to initiate moves towards reconciliation because, in a multi-party system, the two parties must be seen to be working together for the development of the country. Mr Abaka said education on the constitution is essential to strengthen the rule of law and civil liberties. He said there must be transparency in the administration of the prisons and a review of the sedition law which restricts press freedom. A national and local mechanism of conflict resolution and mediation should be created and strengthened as part of the process of addressing existing defects in the democratic culture, he added.