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Former President John Dramani Mahama has urged the citizenry to uphold their civic responsibility respectively to sustain the country’s democracy.
He also charged them to be extra vigilant as the nation prepared for another general election in December this year.
That, Mr Mahama said, would prevent abuses of the system and ensure that only the choice of the people prevailed.
In a statement to mark 32 years of the birth of the 1992 Constitution, the former President further called on all duty-bearers to comply with constitutional principles.
He said democratic governance had served the country well and offered hope for a sustained progress although it had not been perfect.
Mr Mahama, therefore, said that the anniversary must offer the people an opportunity to reflect on where the country had faltered and how it could consolidate whatever gains it had made.
“True democracy goes beyond elections; it should improve governance, enhance individual freedoms, and, most important, ensure a decent quality of life for citizens,” he added.
Mr Mahama, who is also the 2024 flag bearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), expressed regret about the legal obstacles that hindered the Constitution Review Implementation Committee from implementing the Government White Paper on the recommendations of the commission.
He pledged to continue the various processes towards implementing the white paper if elected President in December 2024, to “focus on strengthening governance institutions, protect citizens' rights, and fight corruption”.
“The reforms will aim to reduce the influence of an overreaching executive, put an end to the creeping politicisation of state institutions, reduce excessive spending on Article 71 officeholders to bridge the unacceptable disparity between them and other categories of workers and strengthen the fundamental rights of all citizens,” the former President added.
Mr Mahama also entreated the government to refrain from actions that continued to undermine democratic rights of citizens.
“The use of thugs and rogue elements within the security agencies to disrupt elections in some parts of the country as occurred in the 2020 elections, leading to the loss of eight lives, will forever be remembered as the nation's day of infamy and an indelible blemish on our democratic credentials established over the last 31 years of constitutional rule,” he said.
The former President said it was unconscionable that three years after those tragic events, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had not uttered a word of sympathy to the bereaved families.
“This government must appreciate that they have an obligation to guarantee peaceful elections this year and the loss of even a life will not be countenanced,” he said.
