UNPUBLISHED, SUBMITTED SEPTEMBER 16, 2008

THE Madina Divisional Police Command has said it will not compromise on security during or after the elections.
It has, therefore, asked all political parties in the district to submit their campaign activities to enable the police better prepare in providing security and ensuring peace during the period.
The Divisional Commander, Chief Superintedent Paul Ayitey, said this at a forum for political parties in the Ga East and Adenta Municipal assemblies.
“The police affirm its position to be neutral, but will stand fair and firm in enforcing the laws,” he told participants at the meeting.
Chief Superintendent Ayitey asked the parties to be guided by the Political Parties Act and their Code of Conduct, while using appropriate means to settle differences.
The Municipal Director of the National Commission of Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Kwao Sackey, in advising all partners in the election process, charged leadership of political parties to sensitise their followers to the fact that political leadership could not rule over the dead but the living, hence the need for peace.
He urged that once political leadership had chosen to lead, a characteristic that qualified it for the position was its obedience to the rules and laws of the communities.
Mr Sackey advised political parties to come together and plan joint activities of sensitisation for the electorate in the district to show to their supporters the importance of unity and peace in the election process.
He said while all political party leaders told their supporters to vote for them, they did not, however, teach them how to vote, resulting in spoilt ballots and wrong perceptions of vote rigging.
The Municipal Electoral Officer, Mr Michael Boadu, expressed the commitment of the Electoral Commission (EC) to conducting a credible election, but asked political parties to play their part in the process.
The Chief Imam at Madina, Sheikh Abdallah Shaibu, said the EC had organised four elections, therefore, the lapses encountered in the recent voter registration exercise was shameful.
He asked the EC to ensure that all materials had reached polling centres on time on the election day, while charging all Ghanaians to use the voting process as a show of patriotism and not of violence.
Other speakers at the forum were executive members, aspiring parliamentary candidates and sitting Members of Parliament in the area.
Nii Afutu Brempong III, the Chief of Danfa, chaired the functions.