The Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Kathleen Addy, has urged parliamentary candidates contesting the 2024 general election to participate in the ongoing parliamentary dialogues being organised by the commission in their respective constituencies.

She said although the exercise had been successful so far some parliamentary candidates of the two major political parties, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), had failed to participate in the exercise.

She, however, commended some Parliamentary candidates from the NPP, NDC and the other parties for taking part in the exercise so far.

Speaking at a media briefing at the NCCE head office in Accra yesterday, Ms Addy emphasised the importance of the exercise which, she said, was to promote issue-based elections and inform the decisions of the electorate.

Those dialogues, she said, provided a platform for candidates to share their vision and policies with constituents and engage on national concerns.

MoC

The discussions, she said, were informed by the NCCE's Matters of Concern (MoC) research finding to ensure relevance and effectiveness.

"The Matters of Concern report represents a true reflection of what is important to the citizens of Ghana," Ms Addy stated.

The MoC report, which she said was launched a few weeks ago, provided a framework for issue-based political campaigns as required by true democracy.

Conducted annually, the Research on Matters of Concern fulfils Article 233 (C) of the 1992 Constitution. This year's focus is on the top six priority issues for voters.

Recall

The dialogues have been held in various constituencies, including Krachi West, Juaboso, Gomoa East and Odododiodio, among other places.

However, in the Okaikoi South Constituency in the Greater Accra Region the parliamentary candidates for the NPP and the NDC failed to show up for the dialogue.

The NPP candidate is Dakoa Newman, who is also the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, and the NDC candidate is Earnest Adomako.

The two, according to media reports, failed to show up at the dialogue despite their prior assurances to attend, leaving constituents disappointed.

Importance

Ms Addy at the media briefing emphasised the importance of those dialogues in fostering peaceful and informed elections in the country.

She expressed worry over the failure of some of the parliamentary candidates, especially of the NPP and the NDC to attend the dialogues.

"So, we are just encouraging them to participate and telling them the importance of participating, the importance of demonstrating to young people that politics can be practised without violence, by sitting on a platform, talking in turns, and that sort of thing," she said.

Ms Addy stressed the importance of encouraging participation and demonstrating peaceful politics to young people.

The initiative, she said, was to foster a culture of non-violence and informed decision-making among Ghanaian youth.

She said the key objectives of the dialogue were to encourage respectful dialogue, demonstrate peaceful politics and promote issue-based politics and civic responsibility for informed decision-making.