Former President Jerry John Rawlings has added his voice to that of countless critics who contend that the strange spasm of intense coughing that gripped Hassan Ayariga, the People’s National Convention (PNC) flagbearer during the just ended Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Presidential Debate, was just a fluke as he described it as “the designer cough”.

In his attempt to inspire the presidential aspirants, Mr Rawlings highlighted how he respected all the presidential candidates. “I have a great deal of respect for Ayariga cough-the designer cough.”

Jerry Rawlings’s reference to the controversial cough sent the audience at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) yesterday into a hilarious explosion of laughter.

This was arguably the lightest point of a serious meeting convened to compel heads of institutions and political parties to commit to upholding peaceful elections during the December general elections.

The peace forum was done as a collaborative initiative between the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the National Peace Council and the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG).

The gathering brought together all the contending presidential candidates, the former presidents, the Chief Justice, heads of the security services and the heads of the various peace initiatives in the country.

The presidential candidates were compelled to publicly condemn violent acts that could jeopardize the peace of the country, and afterwards made to sign a peace pact to discourage any ingrained tendency to foment chaos during and after the elections.

The pact was also signed by the Chairman of the National House of Chiefs, Naa Professor John Nabila and Chief Justice Theodora Georgina Wood.

The mood of all the presidential candidates was generally somber as they took turns to deliver short messages that were aimed at inspiring confidence in their commitment to peace as Ghana heads for its sixth democratic dispensation.