Rev. Dr. Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, Chief Executive Officer of Alliance for Christian Advocacy Africa, has warned that violent deaths during elections have negatively impacted Ghana’s image.
He has called on chiefs to help ensure violence-free elections this year by demanding fair conduct and clean campaigns from political parties and other stakeholders to prevent any loss of life at the polls.
Despite past elections being relatively peaceful, he emphasized the concerning fact that eight lives were lost during the 2020 elections.
He said those who lost their lives were either fathers, brothers, sisters and, in some cases, breadwinners of their families.
Rev. Opuni-Frimpong, who is a former General-Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, was speaking at a forum at Amanokrom, Akuapem, in the Eastern Region, on the topic:
“Election 2024 Education,” on the theme: “The role of stakeholders in the promotion of peaceful general election in Ghana during and after the December 7, polls.”
It formed part of activities for the commemoration of the annual Odwira festival of the chiefs and people of the area, which is under the Akuapem paramountcy in the region.
The forum was organised by the Mount Olivet Amanokrom Congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, in partnership with the Amanokrom Local Council of Churches, under the auspices of Nana Osim Kwatia II, Chief of Amanokrom and Akuapem Gyasehene.
Rev. Opuni-Frimpong further said that violent deaths during elections negatively affected the country’s image, hence the need for traditional rulers to prevail on presidential candidates who often visited them at their palaces for guidance and blessings, to ensure that no life would be lost in this year’s polls.
He also advised the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure transparency in the electioneering process to build confidence in all stakeholders.
