General News of Saturday, 18 February 2012

Source: GNA

Ghana’s democracy rests on wobbling legs - NCCE warns

A member of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has observed that Ghana’s democracy was resting on wobbling legs making it volatile.

Mr Peter H Mensah, Upper East Regional Director of the NCCE, said: “Any careless or reckless infraction can easily crumble it. There is the need to recognize this fact and take collective steps to change the trend”,

He made this observation at the inauguration of Inter-Party Dialogue Committees in Bolgatanga on Friday.

Mr Mensah noted that political players, who ought to promote democracy, were not living up to expectation.

He said that could undermine the country’s hard won democratic credentials at the international level.

Mr Mensah said some political parties engaged in registration of minors, encouraging multiple voting, vote rigging, and defacing or destroying other party’s paraphernalia and posters.

He also mentioned: “Demonstrations by macho men and seizing and carrying away ballot boxes during voting, showing disrespect to political leaders, by refusing to accord them their recognised social and occupational status.”.

Mr Mensah said the NCCE was reviving the IPDCs in the region to help monitor and report cases of breach of the code of conduct for political parties, which they all signed.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, who inaugurated the committee, tasked the members to work hard to promote the country’s democracy.

He warned that sanctions would be applied by the appropriate authorities against any political party that would violate the code of political parties.