Stop the hostility - Peace Council appeals to supporters of NDC, NPP

The National Peace Council (NPC) has called on supporters of the two main political parties to desist from acts of hostility against each other to promote peace in the country.

The NPC said even as the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) challenges the legitimacy of President Mahama who was declared winner of the December polls on the ticket of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), it was important for all parties to remain calm in order not to jeopardize the nation’s peace.

During a meeting Monday morning to review the state of Ghana’s peace and democracy since the December 7 elections, the Council noted with satisfaction that “peace has generally endured throughout the country.

“The NPC is pleased that disputes over the elections results, both presidential and parliamentary, are being pursued peacefully in the courts by the affected candidates…”

The Council however raised concerns over recent reactions by some cane-wielding supporters of the NDC who attacked anyone suspected to be NPP supporters close to the Supreme Court.

“… The activities of supporters of the major parties in contention are not only deepening divisions in the society but also undermine the quest for national cohesion,” the NPC stated.

The Council therefore appealed to “the parties to the election disputes and their teeming supporters to desist from any verbal or physical confrontation between opposing groups and refrain from any acts of hostilities, harassment or intimidation, which would not only threaten the national peace but also create an unhealthy environment around the courts during and after the determination of all election disputes”.