Nana Kugbeadzor-Bakateyi II, the Chief Executive Officer, Global Action for Women Empowerment (GLOWA), a non-Governmental Organisation, has observed that Ghana’s political climate is “poisoned” with intolerant attitudes among political parties.
She said there was also an overall lack of civic education among potential voters, lack of focus on relevant policy issues, with little opportunity for free and fair dialogue among candidates and electorates.
Nana Bakateyi, who was launching a Peace Project on, “Empowering Women and Youth to Promote Electoral Peace: 2016 and beyond,” ahead of the December polls, said the situation had resulted in the removal of political party posters by opponents, hooting at opponents and the presence of inflammatory and biased “political rhetoric” in the local media.
She said it had also left little space for citizens to make objective election decisions freely, which could lead to voting along sectarian lines and also passionate reactions towards election outcomes.
Nana Bakateyi said the increasingly hostile political climate was putting perpetual fear in women and people living with disabilities ahead of the polls and asked stakeholders, especially young people to avoid electoral violence and preach peace.
Nana Bakateyi urged the media to be circumspect and guard against inflammatory language.
Mr Godwin Avuworda, the Akatsi South District Director, National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), asked women to lead the peace campaign by preaching peaceful coexistence at home and at public gatherings.
The five-month project, with sponsorship from the United States Agency for International Development, under its Reacting to Early Warning and Response Data (REWRD), is aimed at reducing the risk of violence in the December polls.
Some Community Champions and Peace Ambassadors were inaugurated for the Akatsi South, Agotime-Ziope and South Tongu districts.
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