The Executive Secretary of the Small Arms Commission has appealed to politicians to ensure that ballots are counted in the elections and not bullets.
Jones Applerh urged them to be measured in their language and the electioneering to ensure they did not incite anyone into violence to trigger the use of guns.
Mr Applerh said this during the “Ballots without Bullets” campaign in the Jirapa Municipality of the Upper West Region.
“Ballots without Bullets” is a campaign being championed by the Small Arms Commission to get parliamentary candidates of hot-spot constituencies to publicly pledge their commitment to peace and urge their supporters to follow suit.
Mr Applerh said the campaign was born out of the violence associated with elections in developing countries, particularly in Africa.
Ghana won the reputation as the beacon of democracy in Africa and in the Africa Peace Index, she ranked number one in West Africa and number three in the whole of Africa, he said.
“This is a reputation we don’t want to lose and so judging from what we saw during the registration; the confusion and the gun incidents, we decided as a Commission, who contribute to peace, safety and public security through the controlling of the proliferation of small arms, to get to these constituencies for the candidates themselves to publicly commit to peace and urge their supporters to follow suit,” Mr Aplerh said.
He encouraged politicians to endeavour to solve conflicts peacefully, without the use of guns, adding; “we don’t want guns at all in this election.”
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Jirapa, Mr Cletus Seidu Dapilah, pledged his commitment to ensuring peace before, during and after the December 7 polls.
“I’m urging all my supporters and sympathizers that they should not fight anybody – if you are provoked, report to the appropriate authorities,” he said.
Mr Dapilah said he was once the Jirapa District Chief Executive and his opponent was also an Independent Member of Parliament for the area, saying that gave them the leverage to campaign peacefully on ideas and track record.
The Regional Police Command and the Electoral Commission both indicated their preparedness to deliver on their mandate and discharge their duties fairly and professionally to contribute to peace in the coming elections.
Latest Stories
-
Only 3 people defected from Movement for Change to NPP – Hopeson Adorye
14 mins -
Cause of current ‘dumsor’ is financial; ECG can’t publish load-shedding timetable – Kofi Kapito
18 mins -
SML/GRA contract brought ¢2.45bn in tax revenues to the state – KPMG report
18 mins -
Paris 2024: France ready to host Ghana and rest of world – France Sports Ambassador
31 mins -
KPMG audit reveals ¢1bn paid to SML for revenue mobilisation services from 2018 until suspension
44 mins -
Renegotiate SML contract – Akufo-Addo to GRA, Finance Ministry
50 mins -
Ignore calls by IES for Energy Minister’s removal – Kofi Abrefa Afena
54 mins -
CAF Confederation Cup: Dreams FC’s Karim Zito to implement offensive strategy against Zamalek
58 mins -
We have tried all the regimes except the return of a former President – Kofi Amoabeng
1 hour -
Akufo-Addo accepts KPMG’s advice to end upstream petroleum and minerals audit service provided to GRA by SML
1 hour -
‘It feels amazing’ – Fatawu Issahaku on scoring first Leicester City hat-trick
2 hours -
Embracing Innovation: ICP Ghana to champion new era of decentralised computing
2 hours -
8 cringe-worthy signs you’re the other woman or one of many
2 hours -
Ho Technical University management denies knowledge of name-changing attempts
2 hours -
Global Cocoa Marketing Companies refuse to pay realistic Cocoa prices – CGCI
2 hours