Ghana's peace is not under threat - Peace Council asserts

Most Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante, Chairman of National Peace Council has said the peaceful atmosphere in Ghana is not under threat, despite the on-going election petition at the Supreme Court which has brought some tension among the citizenry.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, he said there is no chaos in Ghana and declared that everybody would continue to enjoy peace after the ruling by the Supreme Court justices.

“The fact that we chose the path of rule of law in seeking justice without going on the street as it happened in Kenya and Cote d’ Ivoire and everybody has access to what is going on at the Supreme Court, is an indication that Ghanaians are very peace loving who are pursuing justice.”

He, however, advised that Ghana should be preserved, not for any individual’s interest but for the collective interest of all.

Rev Asante said the Council is not perturbed by some of the comments having been made over the role it played in the 2012 general election.

“Some people thought that the Peace Council had the power to stop the Electoral Commission from announcing the winner of the 2012 Presidential election, but we don’t have such powers,” he noted.

The reverend minister explained that, before the 2012 elections, the Peace Council managed to bring all the contesting political parties together for a peace accord in Kumasi, committing themselves to peaceful elections in the presence of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, former President Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyekum Kufuor.

Rev Asante said the Council has also not relented in ensuring that there is peace in Ghana after the EC declared the results of the disputed polls and vowed they will do same after the judgement on the Election Petition by the Supreme Court justices.

He said it would embark on an educational campaign to educate the populace on the roles of the Council to ensure peace, and urged the youth to be peace loving and protect the country since it belongs to them.