Ho, Feb 18, GNA- President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday asked Ghanaians to be committed to a free, fair and peaceful elections, this year.

He said government was committed to ensuring that the elections were free, fair and peaceful.

However, President Kufuor said the government would rely on the military and other security services to maintain the highest standards of law and order not only the day of the elections but also during the entire campaign period.

President Kufuor made the call when he formally presented the National and Regimental Colours to the 66 Artillery Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) at Ho.

Colours used in the military are ordinarily known as flags, which symbolises the character, spirit and soul of a people. The Colours of a Unit are therefore, symbols of identification for that particular unit which the 66 Artillery Regiment has over the years not got.

The present 66 Artillery Regiment came into existence on April 16th 1966. It was referred to as the Medium Mortar Regiment (MMR) until June 3, 2002 when the Unit took delivery of new artillery pieces and was re-designated the 66 Artillery Regiment.

The object of the formation of the then MMR on April 16, 1966 was to increase the fire power potential of the Ghana Army as hitherto, its only existing fire support had come from the 81 millimetres Mortars. The lasting testimony of the achievement of the unit is the emergence of two Chiefs of Defence Staff (CDS) namely Major-General (rtd) Edwin Sam, who is currently a member of the Council of State and Lieutenant-General Seth Obeng, the incumbent CDS.

President Kufuor who is also the Commander-in-Chief of GAF said the elections were very crucial for Ghana.

He said as a nation, the success of the election would confer "our acceptance of democratic governance as the country's way of life". On the African continent, President Kufuor said Ghana would emerge as an enviable role model in democratic governance and safe destination for investments.

He said the country is once again back in the right direction towards national prosperity and must not rpt not falter adding, "all its sons and daughters must therefore, put their shoulders to the wheel to move it forward".

President Kufuor asked the dedicated soldiers to be prepared to defend not only the nation's territorial integrity but also, its Constitution enshrining its sovereignty and guaranteeing the rights of all citizens. He said to enable the soldiers to effectively play their role "you must be intellectually, technologically and strategically superior to the nation's real and potential enemies both within and outside its borders".

President Kufuor urged them to be strong as an institution to deter people who would seek to destabilise the nation, saying they must be able to deploy to conflict zones and disaster areas in support of civil authorities to contain explosive situations to restore peace rapidly. To this end, President Kufuor said government was pursuing a programme to re-equip, train and re-train GAF to meet challenges of the times reminding them that the study of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is being added to the regular courses entailed in military training.

He congratulated the officers and men of the 66 Artillery Regiment for their impressive and excellent parade, adding, "let your colours be the embodiment of courage, sacrifice, devotion, discipline, professionalism and military pride to you and the rest of the GAF".

A colours parade of 12 Officers and 168 men under the command of Lt-Colonel Samuel Yanyi-Akofur was mounted to mark the presentation ceremony.

Among the large dignitaries at the parade were Brigadier-General J. B. Danquah, Acting Army Commander, Rear Admiral John Gbena, Chief of Naval Staff, Air Commodore Richard Awuku, Acting Chief of Air Staff, Mr Raphael Sarfo, Commissioner of Police Administration, Diplomats, Chiefs, serving and retired officers and men including, Lt-Col Ekow Jones, the first Commanding Officer of the Unit.