THE people of Chereponi go to the polls today to elect a successor to the late Member of Parliament (MP), Mrs Doris Asibi Seidu, who died in August this year.
Since the polls are coming on the heels of the polls at Akwatia, its outcome will go a long way to confirm Ghana’s place among the comity of democratic states, in spite of the pre-election challenges.
Ghana has been touted as a model democracy in Africa and we are currently basking in that glory. However, what is troubling is the emerging trend of violence experienced in the country’s recent by-elections.
The Akwatia by-election has come and gone, with its concomitant challenges. What Ghanaians least expect in the Chereponi by-election is a repeat of the violence that reared its ugly head at Akwatia.
The DAILY GRAPHIC cautions all the political parties and their candidates involved in the election today to do everything possible to ensure free, fair and peaceful polls.
Posterity will not forgive us if we lose our balance in the exercise and spill innocent blood just because we want to be victorious at all cost.
The clash between supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) at Chereponi on Sunday, resulting in serious injuries to a number of people, is very disturbing, indeed.
Although there were no fatalities, the Chereponi scare must be a wake-up call to all and sundry, especially the security agencies, to work hard to protect the integrity of the polls and lives and property.
Political parties and prospective parliamentary candidates must bear in mind that they are seeking the mandate of the electorate in order to improve their living conditions.
The DAILY GRAPHIC has no doubt that the preoccupation of all those seeking political power is the mandate to serve the people to attain better standards of living.
We should not divide our ranks through unhealthy rivalry because after we have emerged victorious in the contest, we would need have a stable society to implement our policies and programmes.
We need human beings to help in the governance of the nation. Every Ghanaian is, therefore, required to put his or her shoulder to the wheel of development.
The DAILY GRAPHIC reminds everybody that despite our political differences, the country’s greatest enemies are poverty, ignorance and disease.
Political parties and parliamentarians mount platforms to present their visions that can help to solve these problems, not to incite their supporters to violence.
Our political opponents are not our enemies; they are our own compatriots who only share alternative ideologies but without whom democracy cannot endure.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, therefore, pleads with residents of Chereponi to pledge to go through today’s by-election peacefully and demonstrate to the global community that Ghana does, indeed, believe in the democratic culture.
By so doing, we will not only reap the dividends of democracy but also sustain the peaceful and stable society needed for accelerated growth.
Ghana cannot afford to weaken the platform on which it is receiving global applause for the sake of political expediency.
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