The General Secretary of the Convention People's Party (CPP), Nana Yaa Akyempim Jantuah, has challenged political leaders at all levels to put the national interest above partisan considerations.

That, she said, would set a good example for their followers.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of a three-day National Stakeholders Dialogue on countering post-2020 Election Violence and Building Consensus in Ghana in Ada, she urged politicians to be decorous in their language to ensure peace at all times.

The dialogue was organised by the National Peace Council, with support from the Commonwealth Secretariat and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Dialogue

Nana Jantuah further underscored the importance of constant dialogue among political parties to promote peace and sustain Ghana’s democratic gains.

She said given the acrimonious nature of the last general election, constant dialoguing, such as the one organised by the NPC, would bolster peace.

“Peace is key; there is no way one can run a country without peace. The 2020 elections came with a lot of issues, some of which protracted, as people were dissatisfied with the process,” she said

According to her, now that the elections were over, it was time for all stakeholders to come together and work towards sustaining the democratic gains built over the years.

She emphasised that sustaining Ghana’s democratic successes required the active collaboration of all stakeholders at both the national and the grass-root levels.

“We in the CPP will continue to play an intervening role and encourage others to seek the interest of Ghana,” she said.

Challenges

The Chairman of the Governing Board of the NPC, Rev. Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, said the challenges that confronted the last elections were quite enormous, particularly coming on the heels of the vigilante scare after the 2016 general election and the events of the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election.

He said despite those challenges, the National Peace Council and its partners committed themselves to ensuring that political vigilantism, which was denting the otherwise good image of Ghana as the oasis of peace in the West African subregion, was contained during the 2020 election.

He said the interventions being undertaken by the council through the dialogue session, apart from contributing to building tolerance and consensus, were also aimed at strengthening mechanisms for inter- and intra-party dialogue, as well as deepening trust and confidence in key state institutions responsible for elections, investigations and prosecution of election-related offences.