The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has emphasized the importance of unity and tolerance in the lead-up to the 2024 general elections in a crucial meeting held in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region.
The Inter-party dialogue committee meeting, funded by the European Union, brought together political party representatives to discuss key areas of focus for the upcoming elections.
The commission stressed that 2024 is a pivotal year for Ghana’s democratic development, highlighting its theme, “Together We Can Build Ghana, So Get Involved,” to emphasize the need for citizens to actively participate in promoting peace and preventing violent extremism.
The NCCE identified four key areas to focus on; which includes vote buying, misinformation/disinformation, religious and ethnic tolerance, and electoral violence.
The meeting also addressed the need to respect dissenting views, avoid hate speech and personal attacks, and promote issue-based campaigns that offer solutions to develop the country.
The NCCE advised the youth not to fall prey to political actors who incite violence and urged citizens to report any violations of electoral rules and regulations.
The ultimate goal of the program was to achieve a free, fair, and violent-free election in 2024.
Delivering a speech at the Committee meeting, the District Director of the Commission Alice Ndego urged citizens not to sell their votes, as it compromises their conscience and betrays the country. She also emphasized the importance of fact-checking information to prevent the spread of fake news.
“Do not sell your votes. When you sell your vote, you compromised your conscience and betrayed your country. Vote buying and selling fuels corruption, undermines the principles of democracy and deny competent candidates a chance. You should fact-check information before sharing or forwarding or else fake news can lead to devastating consequences,” she admonished.
She emphasized the need to disallow misinformation, hate speech, personal attacks, provocative utterances, religious and ethnic violence which can lead to tension while urging them to respect dissenting views.
