Accra, May 03, GNA – The Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) on Thursday inaugurated a 13-member Eminent Persons Group (EPG) in Accra to serve as the Election 2012 proactive peace building platform.
The Group is amongst others is tasked to engage democratic stakeholders, security agencies, Elections Management Bodies as well as mediate and intervene in resolving electoral disputes.
The Reverend Dr Fred Deegbe, General Secretary of the Council who inaugurated the Group, said there was the need for current national leaders to work towards leaving a lasting legacy of peace for the next generation.
He said some of the confrontations arising out of elections in the society, come from groups of lawless people who refuse to play by the rules of the game and sought to create confusion in the society.
Mr Patrick Timbillah, Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Greater Accra Region, commended the Christian Council for instituting the Group and pledged the administration’s readiness to work with them to ensure peace in the country.
He said the peace and security of the country is a shared responsibility of all citizens even though the police was the lead agent especially on domestic affairs and elections.
Mr Timbillah said civil society groups like the Eminent Persons Group must all be on their toes to speak to the issues regarding the elections and also to condemn wrong doings to dissuade people from engaging in such vices.
He said the police would continue to protect and maintain the peace the nation has enjoyed over the years especially in this election year.
He said in spite of the logistical and manpower constraints “we would perform our constitutional mandate and we however need support from the public to ensure peaceful elections”.
Mr Timbillah said it is the desire of the Police Service to see Ghana maintain its peaceful state status “so that observers can continue to place our name high on the calendar of countries deepening its democratic credentials”.
He disclosed that in order to ensure maximum security, the Police Administration was studying Elections 2008 documentations, which would serve as the operational backbone for monitoring this year’s elections.
He said there was the need for a continuous education on the elections saying the lack of education in the on-going biometric voter’s registration, led to some confusion and mayhem at selected centres”.
He said the rules of elections should be clearly spelt out to ensure that all stakeholders played by the rules and hence there would be no need for the Police to be called upon to interpret the laws regarding elections.
The formation of the EPG was under the sponsorship of STAR-Ghana a multi-donor pooled funding mechanism (Funded by DFID, DANIDA, EU and USAID) to increase the influence of civil society and Parliament in the governance of public goods and service delivery.
Mr Ibrahim –Tanko Amidu, Programmes Manager of Star-Ghana, said the funding was to strengthen transparency, accountability and responsiveness hence the need to partner with the Christian Council.
He said the sponsorship forms part of its varied projects scattered all over the country to consolidate the election processes and help attain peace in Ghana
The membership of the Eminent Persons Group includes religious leaders, senior state men and women who as part of the inauguration were taken through some orientation of the roles expected of them.
GNA
