On the occasion of this year’s international day of democracy, which falls on September 15, the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) calls on Ghanaians, particularly state actors, to do more to recognize and integrate into public life the still largely silent voice of vulnerable groups.This year’s celebration on the theme “Strengthening Voices for Democracy” reaffirms the underlying ethos of democracy as a government of the people, by the people and for the people. It also draws attention to the important role the voice of citizens (freely expressed directly or through their elected representatives) plays in the renewal and redefinition of the contours of democracy.While the state remains the custodian of democracy, an informed citizenry, able and willing to participate, express and raise its voice remains central to democracy. Accordingly, whereas, we commend successive governments in the Fourth Republic for generally keeping faith with the constitutional provisions protecting freedom of expression, we, call on the incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration to expand this frontier by speeding up the passage of the freedom of information law in a manner that strengthens the voices of Ghanaians.We appreciate the progress our nation has made to nurture and deepen its democratic processes and institutions. However, we remain concerned about recent developments on the political landscape, particularly, the extreme partisanship and intemperate attacks on dissenting voice that characterize political discourse, which threaten to erode public confidence in the entire democratic development project.Ghana cannot afford to and must not continue on this path of growing intolerance. Against this backdrop, CDD-Ghana calls on the Government to continue to expand the space for political participation for all Ghanaians, and at all levels of government (irrespective of political affiliation) as an affirmation of our commitment to building a democratic society in which divergent views of all citizens are duly reflected.In the same manner, we call on Ghanaians, especially political activists, to be decorous in the exercise of their constitutional right to free expression. We must be aware that active political participation and civility in political discourse are central to sustaining democracy and building a prosperous nation, and must therefore be protected and defended at all times.