A fourteen member National Enforcement Body to oversee the activities of political parties’ adherence to the Political Parties Code of Conduct for the 2012 General Elections has been inaugurated in Accra. The National Enforcement Body will also implement the provisions of the code and impose sanctions where necessary. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, Brigadier-General Francis Agyemfra (rtd) recounted historical antecedents to the Political Parties Code of Conduct which he said was intended to ensure free, fair and credible elections. He said the absence of the code had resulted in various violent activities by political parties which threatened the country’s peace and stability. He noted the media was used as a forum to abuse political opponents. “In some cases, the radio stations became boxing rings to settle political scores. We witnessed radio presenters inciting violence and in some cases calling on citizens to take the law into their own hands” he recalled. He was also worried, years after its implementation, “today, we continue to witness the politics of abuse and intolerance that has the potential to rip the country apart and it is in the light of this that the 2008 code of conduct was reviewed to make it relevant to the demands of the 2012 general elections”. Chairman of the National Peace Council, the Most Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante who chairs the body, called on the media to also be guided by the code, stressing on the important role they have to play in the governance process.