The Secretary General in separate telephone calls placed to the two candidates on Tuesday , November 29 said it was important for them to help maintain an environment of peace and credible elections.

He said the two candidates must help in defusing tensions and preserving peace before, during and after the 2016 general elections.

He also urged the two to sign “a Code of Conduct which will greatly assist in lowering tensions and preventing electoral violence.”

Read the Secretary General’s full release below:

Secretary-General’s telephone conversations with H.E. Mr. John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, and Mr. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Head of Ghana’s opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP)

Today, the Secretary-General had separate telephone conversations with H.E. Mr. John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, and Mr. Nana Akufo-Addo, head of Ghana’s opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), to discuss the general elections that are scheduled to take place on 7 December in Ghana.

The Secretary-General underscored the importance of an environment conducive to peaceful and credible elections, and urged the two leaders to continue their role in defusing tensions and preserving peace. Bearing in mind Ghana’s history of political stability and peaceful elections, the Secretary-General underscored the need for all political parties to sign a Code of Conduct, which will greatly assist in lowering tensions and preventing electoral violence.

New York, 29 November 2016.”

The international community have shown a keen interest in Ghana’s elections following the country’s enviable record in holding peaceful polls in spite of high pre-election tension.

‘US warns nationals in Ghana’

Last week, the US Embassy in Accra issued an alert to its citizens in Ghana to avoid political hotspots. The release mentioned a number areas in the country the embassy had identified as hotspots where violence or electoral trouble may occur with little or no danger warning.

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

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Ban Ki-moon said he witnessed a looting incident in Les Cayes, where he promised more aid to Haiti. He also urged countries to donate more.

Officials say more than 1.4 million people urgently need humanitarian help.

There are also fears of a cholera outbreak, with spikes in cases and deaths reported in the south west.

The waterborne disease reached the island via Nepalese UN troops after the deadly earthquake in 2010, causing the deaths of nearly 10,000 people.

Tensions have been high as help has yet to reach many families whose crops and water supplies have been destroyed.

Haitian police and UN peacekeepers used tear gas to disperse a group of 100 residents who attacked humanitarian convoys in Les Cayes on Saturday.

“We understand the impatience and the anger of the population who are waiting for emergency relief. We are doing all we can to facilitate the arrival of the assistance soon as possible,” Mr Ban said.

He flew over areas hit by the hurricane alongside Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles.

“I was very, very sad when we saw the complete devastation. But people the world over stand with you,” the UN chief added.

“We are going to mobilize as many resources and as much medical support as we can to first of all stop the cholera epidemic and second support the families of the victims.”

Some 120,000 homes were either damaged or destroyed when Category Four Hurricane Matthew swept through on 4 October with winds of 145mph (230km/h).

Mr Ban visited a shelter in Les Cayes and told the displaced “kembe fem” in Creole, meaning “hang in there”.

In the town, one of the worst affected by Matthew, the streets have been cleaned and businesses have reopened.

But power, transport and communications links are still difficult in other areas.

Last week, Mr Ban called for a “massive response” to help the country, the poorest in the Americas.

The UN launched an emergency appeal for nearly $120m (£97m) in aid, but just a fraction of it has been raised.

Mr Ban acknowledged there was aid “fatigue”, but urged countries to help Haiti.

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Mr Guterres, 66, was the “clear favourite”, Russia’s UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin announced on Wednesday.

A formal vote will take place in the UN Security Council on Thursday to confirm the choice of nominee.

Mr Guterres, who led the UN refugee agency for 10 years, will take over from Ban Ki-moon early next year.

The 15-member Security Council cast secret ballots for each of the 10 candidates on Wednesday and none were found to oppose Mr Guterres.

They were asked to select from a choice of encourage, discourage or no opinion for each candidate, with the former Portuguese prime minister receiving 13 encourage votes and two no opinion votes.

A formal vote will take place at 1000 EST (1500 BST) on Thursday.

Mr Ban will stand down after ten years at the helm.

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Source: BBC

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