Kufuor should be fair to all politicians

Accra, Jan. 11, GNA - The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) on Friday appealed to the President John Agyekum Kufuor to demonstrate fairness to all political parties through his actions and speeches to create conducive environment for Election 2008.

"President Kufuor has to prepare the grounds for a smooth handover to the any political party - Presidential Candidate who would be declared as winner by the Electoral Commission (EC)," Mrs Augustina Akusua Akumanyin, NCCE Deputy Chairperson in- Charge of Operations stated at a press conference in Accra.

The press conference dubbed; "The Need for a Peaceful Election in Ghana 2008," focused on the role of stakeholders including the, President John Agyekum Kufuor, the media, EC, NCCE, political parties, religious bodies, traditional rulers and the Judiciary.

It was attended by Mr Laary Bimi, NCCE Chairman; Mr Baron Amoafo, Deputy Chairman in charge of Finance and Administration; and Mr Kwame Opoku-Afriyie a member of the Commission, NCCE staff and media personnel.

Mrs. Akumanyin noted that such a fatherly role by the President could reduce the incidence of electoral disagreement, which poses a serious challenge to political stability and constitutional development in Africa.

She said social political instability in some African countries has led to armed confrontation between various political groups degenerating into protracted tribal conflicts, citing the recent electoral turmoil in Kenya.

The NCCE Deputy Chairperson said Ghana must avoid going to that road; "we in Ghana have to learn lessons from these examples and adopt the appropriate mechanism to ensure that Election 2008 becomes free, fair, transparent and peaceful."

Mrs Akumanyin therefore tasked the police and other security agencies to demonstrate non-partisan stance and neutrality before, during and after the elections. The credibility of the December elections would depend

greatly on the way the security agencies conduct themselves

throughout the period. On the media, the NCCE appealed to the EC and other

stakeholders, including the National Media Commission (NMC)

to organise training on electoral reporting and other critical

aspect of the elections for media practitioners. She noted that the media played important an role in the dissemination of election results, and it was necessary to note that dissemination of uncertified results and other unconfirmed information about elections could create confusion and chaos.

The NCCE also urged the media to ensure equity and fairness to all political parties, making sure that they received balance coverage of activities, and that even though the Constitution mandated the state media to ensure this, the private media also has a responsibility that their actions did not undermine security of the state.