Stakeholders' role critical in upholding peace

As we inch closer to what has become known as ‘judgement day’ in Ghana, it is important to stress the need for an increased role for stakeholders in the entire process.

The petitioners are the people who felt aggrieved by the decision of the election umpires to declare President John Mahama the winner of the 2012 presidential polls.

The other stakeholders are the respondents, namely the President, the Electoral Commission (EC) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who insist the election was free and fair.

There are other interest groups, including the judges adjudicating the case, the members of the public divided as supporters of the two parties and those affected by the decision of the court, the security agencies and the media.  

The interests of these groups may not be the same, but we require their commitment to the peace of our country in order that they may play roles to sustain democratic governance.

So far, almost every Ghanaian has expressed his or her support for the peace and stability of the country, except on a few occasions when certain individuals have raised the political temperature by crossing the ‘touchline’.

The Daily Graphic does not doubt the integrity of the learned judges to deliver judgement in this landmark case without fear or favour, ill-will or affection.

It is our expectation that the people will accept the verdict in good faith and not resort to actions to derail the stability of the country.

The Daily Graphic is not oblivious of the issues at stake, for which reason we expect some disagreements over the decision to be arrived at by the court, but here again we expect everybody to place the interest of the country above all other considerations.

Members of the public are also looking up to the security agencies, especially the police, to be very professional in upholding the peace, security and sovereignty of our great nation.

The police and other security agencies have excelled in operations outside the country. We have no doubt in our minds that from now to judgement day on Thursday and beyond the police will live up to expectation.

They should demonstrate to the whole world that they will not tolerate attempts by individuals or groups to destabilise the country, no matter which side of the political divide they belong to.

Last but not least among the stakeholders who have a crucial role to play in the maintenance of law and order in the country are media practitioners and political activists who appear on radio and television describing themselves as members of the communication teams of the political parties.

There is no vibrant democracy without an active press, and we also know that democracy thrives when there is an active and responsible press.

Society is healthy and vibrant if there is a media system that is independent to uphold the truth and hold public office holders to account.

That kind of media should be bold enough to question everybody in society, including members of all the three arms of government, so that they do not use their power to intimidate the people on whose behalf they exercise that power.

The Daily Graphic calls on the media not to deepen tension in society after the verdict by offering their platforms to the parties to make unguarded statements.

We cannot control people’s emotions and their reactions to the verdict, but we expect the media to exercise their freedom and independence with responsibility.

The Daily Graphic, therefore, calls on all the stakeholders to be guided by the rule of law and particularly the 1992 Constitution during the days leading to the verdict and after in order to consolidate our credential as the most democratic state on the African continent.

Daily Graphic/Ghana