Ayee: Police, EC must draw time table for conflict zones

September 19, 2008 pg 17

Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru

THE Dean of the Faculty of Social Studies of the University of Ghana, Legon, Prof Joseph R. A. Ayee, has asked the Police Command and the Electoral Commission (EC) to draw time-tables for all political parties to campaign in turns in conflict zones, to eliminate the possibility of the parties clashing.
He said the regional offices of the Police Command and the EC should consider the local dynamics of the areas and the proximity of the rally or campaign grounds before deciding on the time table.
He stressed that long-standing traditional conflicts must be one of the significant local dynamics to be taken into account when scheduling the political rallies to avoid any confrontation.
Prof Ayee who was sharing his political thoughts with the Daily Graphic, particularly the political clashes between New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Party (NDC) supporters in Tamale and Gushiegu in the Northern Region, said the police and EC should work out the time-table in collaboration with the political parties.
He said the police and the EC must “sit down with the political parties and agree on the schedules”, adding that “the scheduling of the rallies should not be arbitrary”.
Prof Ayee denied the suggestion that the scheduling of the political rallies will amount to imposition of the will of the police and the EC on political parties.
Rather, he said, the scheduling of the political rallies “is in the interest of peace and the election”.
The political scientist charged the police and the military to be neutral and non-partisan in dealing with all political parties.
He said the neutrality of the police would prevent suspicion and build trust in the electoral process.
Prof Ayee expressed worry at the ‘belligerent’ language used by some politicians and “the way they are telling their people they must win the election at all cost”.
“The two major political parties (NPP and NDC) want to win the election at all cost. Anything little, the people become suspicious”, he stressed.
According to Prof Ayee, the desire to win the election at all cost deepened because the NPP and NDC entertained the fear that one would witchhunt the other in the next government.
Prof Ayee reminded Ghanaians that in every election there would be winners and losers, and indicated that whichever party won the election, it was a win for Ghana, since “the country is for all of us”.
He challenged the civil society and religious bodies to intensify education on the need for Ghanaians to shun any violent confrontations before, during and after the December 7 presidential and parliamentary election.
Prof Ayee described the political clashes in Tamale and Gushiegu as “regrettable”, and said it amounted to the lack of political education.
He again expressed regret at the violence witnessed during the voter registration exercise in some parts of the country, and blamed the political parties for allegedly bussing minors to register.
Prof Ayee cited ignorance of the registration exercise as one of the causes of the hitches experienced during the registration exercise, and asked the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the EC to intensify education on electoral processes.
He suggested that the voter registration should be an all-year round activity to allow the youth who attain 18 years and those who had returned home from abroad to register.