AGENDA FOR DECEMBER POLLS

OFTENTIMES party supporters look on in utter amazement when they see their leaders exchange pleasantries with their counterparts from the political divide.
The utterances and outbursts of politicians on the airwaves and on the political platforms give them up as a group of intolerant Homo Sapiens who are ready to defend the indefensible and refuse to give praise where praise is due.
Like the proverbial saying “give a dog a bad name and hang it”, they give politics a bad name and hang it, thereby discouraging many well-intentioned people from participating in the most important public enterprise in any country.
No doubt politics is said to be a dirty game although it must be made decent to attract the best human resource that would be able to harness the country’s resources for development.
It is in our effort to give politics a better image that every platform is used to draw attention to the negative comments made about politics and politicians.
Politicians themselves in their boardrooms and in their exchanges at public platforms miss no opportunity to exercise decorum in the pursuit of their agenda to win power.
Unfortunately, when they mount the campaign platform and see the large crowds they are moved by emotions and passions to incite their supporters to do anything to win power, including the use of hate speech and violence against even their blood brothers and sisters.
The Daily Graphic encourages all stakeholders including civil society organisations, the media, religious groups, the Electoral Commission, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), and, indeed, the political parties, to continue to educate the public on the need to conduct the 2008 election devoid of violence.
The interest of Ghana must be paramount and be placed above any individual agenda, including the ambitions of party leaders to assume the reins of government.
We must commend the IEA, the NCCE and the National Peace Council for bringing together leaders of political parties to devise means to ensure peaceful Election 2008 at Elmina last weekend.
The Daily Graphic is equally happy that six of the political parties that have declared their intention to contest the December 2008 elections, have agreed on some key points for violence-free polls.
It is a matter of regret that aspects of similar declarations made in the past were flouted with impunity.
We call on the IEA to publicise the declarations and possibly translate them into local languages to empower the electorate to hold politicians accountable.
While the political parties are encouraged to educate their supporters on this document, media practitioners also have a responsibility to be circumspect in their reportage to avoid dividing the ranks of the people.
The Daily Graphic urges every patriotic Ghanaian to monitor and guard the processes leading to election 2008 so that the outcome of the polls will not be disputed.
Ghana has conducted four successful elections and this year’s polls will equally earn the country the endorsement of the international community.
For this to be a reality everybody must make it a duty to police the system, play by the rules and expose those interested in circumventing the process.