The European Union Ambassador to Ghana, William Hanna, has encouraged politicians to shun divisive politics and dissociate themselves from vigilante groups ahead of this year’s general elections.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of STAR Ghana’s two day learning workshop with stakeholders, Mr Hanna also encouraged voters to exercise their franchise peacefully and not engage in acts of violence.
[contextly_sidebar id=”0CCFtfZaXyq1Y8lEEVXXOxOE3A2W7KCh”]“All Ghanaians should be able on that day go to the polling station and make a choice freely without being intimidated by any groups. So I think there is an important role for the political parties to dissociate themselves from such violence.”
The two day learning event is aimed at increasing the influence of civil society organisations, the media and various stakeholders in the governance of public goods and service delivery in the country.
It is also necessitated by the fact that there is less than five months before the general elections and the need to review implementation of star Ghana’s support to the election process
Meanwhile, Head of Programmes at STAR Ghana, Seth Lartey, says the programme was needed to encourage learning amongst civil society organisations and the various stakeholders in the country.
“It’s not just civil society organisations and media houses that are here but we also have state actors. The idea was to bring together these various actors so they can share their experiences on the work that they are doing in the election process and also find the dots that can be connected later on so they could work together more effectively and as we get closer to the December 7 date.”
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By: Zoe Abu-Baidoo/citifmonline.com/Ghana