Community leaders in the Ayawaso East Constituency in the Greater Accra Region have been urged to guard against hate speech, misinformation, and other unlawful conduct that could undermine public peace and cohesion.

They have been encouraged to share information about potential conflicts within their community and report acts of wrongdoing to the relevant state authorities for appropriate action.

The Right Reverend Samuel Kofi Osabutey, Greater Accra Chairman of the National Peace Council, made the call during a stakeholder engagement with youth groups and community-based organisations at Nima, ahead of the March 3 by-election in the constituency.

The session, organised by the Greater Accra Regional Peace Council, in collaboration with the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), sensitised community leaders to issues that trigger violence, extremism, vigilantism and related offences.

Experts from the NCCE, the Greater Accra Regional Peace Council, and Civil Society Organisations facilitated the engagement, which also emphasised the importance of maintaining peace before, during, and after the scheduled by-election.

Rev Osabutey, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, highlighted the role of community leaders in conflict prevention and called on the youth and opinion leaders in the locality to promote democracy through free, fair and peaceful elections.

He noted that the March 3 by-election, like previous elections, would be a contest of ideas, requiring candidates and voters to observe the process peacefully and avoid language that could incite violence.

“Candidates should carry out their campaign in a way that does not dehumanise their opponents because they are only expressing different ideologies…If you are a voter and do not like a particular person on the ballot, it does not call for attack,” he stated.

Rev Osabutey urged the Electoral Commission to ensure a transparent process during the by-election while security agencies continued to act professionally, maintain peace, and protect lives and property.

“The process is as important as the result, and it should be very transparent… the security agencies should remember it is an election and not a war zone, and their actions should not mar the electoral process,” he added.

Mrs Theodora Williams Antie, a member of the Greater Accra Peace Council, emphasised the importance of peacebuilding and raising awareness among community leaders about violent extremism, including political violence.

She touched on the historical tension associated with by-elections and called on political leaders to be responsible in their speech and engagement with citizens, while community leaders helped to prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation.

“Peace begins with how political leaders compose themselves…Community leaders must set calm and responsible tone, reject vigilante mobilisation, correct misinformation early, and promote peaceful participation…the true mark of a leader is to preserve peace,” Mrs William Antie stated.

Participants were tasked with educating their constituents on political tolerance, conflict prevention, and peaceful coexistence.

The presentations focused on election-related conflict and its management, the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act (Act 999), and violent extremism and radicalisation.