Religious leaders have been urged to refrain from declaring or prophesying on the outcome out the December 7 polls.

The programmes manager of the Upper West Peace Council, Aa-enir Sanuo Raymond observed that such acts ahead of the Electoral Commission tend to distract the peace in the country.

"We are pleading with all religious leaders to refrain from predicting the outcome of the election before the declaration of the victor by the electoral commission by prophesying or soothsaying."

This, he said, has the tendency of disrupting the peace Ghana enjoys, as “political parties will go ahead not to accept the results of the elections pertaining to the prophecies that have been given by other religious leaders.”

He charged the various religious leaders to continue to use their “influential positions to maintain the peace that we have rather than destroy it.”

Sanuo Raymond was speaking at a programme organised by the office of the Upper West region’s Chief Imam, Alhaji Osman Kani to bring the leadership of political parties in the region to commit to peaceful polls.

The Chief Imam, in a speech, read on his behalf by his administrative assistant, Alhaji Zeid Tamim, advised the general public not to be divided by the elections.

“We need each other, whether elections or not and we must make it possible for the enabling environment to still prevail after the elections a brother in the NDC can still walk into the house of the NPP man to request for a favour and vice versa”.

He also urged the youth not to allow themselves to be used to cause violence in the upcoming polls.

The event saw representatives from the various political parties, especially the NPP and NDC publicly declaring their commitment to ensuring a peaceful election in the region. 

With just about seven days to the 2020 elections, there is a need to ensure that all political parties commit to peace even after the polls.