By:Isaac Amoah/tntnewspapergh.com
Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has made a passionate appeal to all stakeholders, especially the Electoral Commission (EC), candidates and their followers, the media, among others, to do everything possible to ensure peace before, during and after the December 7 general election.
Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin in a group photograph with the participants
According to him, nothing should be allowed to disturb the peaceful coexistence in the country, hence there is the need for all Ghanaians, especially key stakeholders, to play their roles effectively devoid of bias in order to ensure that the will of the electorate prevail in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.
Mr. Bagbin made the appeal at Lancaster Hotel in Kumasi on Sunday, 30th June 2024, during a “Speaker’s press soiree” with the Ashanti regional chapter of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).
The engagement was the first time a Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament held a press soiree or had an official encounter with the Ashanti chapter of the GJA.
The Speaker revealed that the event would be held across the 16 regions in the country and it forms part of his leadership efforts to bring the legislative house closer to agents of development, which the media plays a major key.
According to the Speaker, the forum would provide an opportunity for him, and it is fully supported by his deputies and some parliamentary staff and journalists in the various regions, to discuss ways to strengthen democracy in Ghana in order to ensure accelerated development for the people.
The former Nadowli Member of Parliament (MP), who also served as Minority and Majority Leader, pointed out that the 2024 general election is a very serious one. “We either break the mood or we lose everything due to the heightened tensions in the country,” he added.
He, therefore, advocated preemptive measures to prevent violence or a replication of Kenya’s protests in Ghana ahead of the December 7 polls.
He gave an assurance that Ghana is committed to holding free, fair, and transparent elections, without subverting the will of the people.
The Speaker disclosed that he had initiated engagements with various stakeholders, including the chairperson of the EC, who has assured him of free and fair elections; the Chief Justice, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, other chiefs, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), among others, who had all welcomed the move to help ensure free, fair and transparent polls.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Kingsley E. Hope, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the GJA, commended Mr. Bagbin for his engagement with the media, which he said was a historic one.
He seized the opportunity to express his concerns about the ‘unfair’ treatment being meted out to journalists in the Ashanti Region by various ministries and state agencies during the coverage of their events.
The Ashanti GJA chairman lamented that journalists in the region had been treated with little respect over the years and called on the Speaker to intervene and help the media to get better treatment when serving the country.
Mr. Hope also appealed to the Speaker to use his good office to help complete the abandoned Ashanti regional press centre which was initiated by the then Regional Minister, Mr. Eric Opoku, the current MP for Asunafo South.
The event was attended by the GJA President, Mr. Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, other executives, representatives from the National Media Commission (NMC), among others.
