The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has appealed to political parties and their supporters to avoid tribal-based campaigns in the upcoming general elections because they
are a threat to national unity.
The NCCE has therefore encouraged all political parties and their supporters to consider themselves first as one people and then as Ghanaians belonging to one nation called Ghana above all other considerations. According to NCCE, the practice where some political actors would say because he is from this place and the other one is also from that place, holding on with the intention of encouraging the
Voting on ethnic lines is by itself dangerous, a threat to national unity and could destroy the democratic credentials of the country.
The Chairperson of the NCCE, Madam Kathleen Addy, raised these concerns at the fourth series of stakeholders’ dialogues that forms part of the NCCE “Preventing and Containing Violent Extremism (PCVE) Project held in Wa to examine some aspects of PCVE, especially during the upcoming elections in Ghana.
Madam Addy explained that when a politician indulges in tribal politics, it brings divisional tendencies, which are not good for Ghana’s democracy and must be dealt with once and for all to sustain peace and stability in the country.
The NCCE Chairperson further spoke against religious intolerance as well as extreme partisanship in our body politics and advised that supporters of different political parties should not see themselves as enemies but legitimate opponents who are just in a competition.
She advised the youth to be more patriotic and stand firm against political actors and extremists who would want to source their support to disturb the peace of the country during and after
the elections.
The European Union-sponsored project has the overall objective of preventing and containing violent extremism by promoting social cohesion, peace, and tolerance in the five northern regions and
other hotpots in Ghana.
The dialogue also created an opportunity for participants to build synergies as part of measures to reduce duplication of activities in the same space.
