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Politics of Monday, 3 December 2012

Source: GNA

AFAG calls on Ghanaians to protect the legitimacy of Election 2012

The Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), a political pressure group working to promote accountability and good governance, on Monday called on the citizenry to support the police to protect ballot boxes on December 7.

It said the electorate could only protect the ballot boxes when they remained vigilant and assist the police to arrest citizens who would misconduct themselves and mar Election 2012.

Nana Ayew Afriyie, Chairman of AFAG addressing a news conference in Sunyani, said the alliance had received information on an alleged group being trained and provided with police and military uniforms to intimidate the electorate and mar the voting on December 7.

He said voting was a constitutional right and the responsibility of all and sundry to ensure that all votes cast during Election 2012 were counted without fear or favour.

Nana Afriyie said the future of the nation was in danger since corruption was high noting “Ghanaians have not seen the transformation the government promised in 2008”.

However, he called on the electorate to make critical assessment into their standard of living and vote by merit instead of voting on partisan lines.

Nana Afriyie was optimistic that the police and other security personnel who would be deployed to maintain law and order at the polling stations and would remain neutral for national peace to prevail.

Mr Arnold Boateng, General Secretary of AFAG, said “Friday December 7, 2012 is a day of accountability” and advised the electorate not to make any hasty decision that they would regret in the long term.

He said as a democratic country, there was no circumstance under which the electorate should be coerced to vote and entreated the police to create an atmosphere where voters could make informed choices.

Mr Boateng explained that “Members AFAG are not detractors” neither were they anti-government but committed to ensure that accountability and transparency prevailed in all aspects of social life and nation building.