The Pru East district office of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has engaged political parties and other stakeholders on peace, vigilantism, and the prevention of violent extremism in Yeji.

Welcoming participants to the program, the district director of the Commission, Mr. Emmanuel Nimoh, said the meeting held under the auspices of the district’s Inter-Party Dialogue Committee (IPDC) and funded by the European Union aimed to ensure peace before, during, and after the general elections in December.

The Bono East regional director of the Commission, Mr. Joseph Kwaku Yeboah, said election-related upheavals are a key ingredient for the manifestation of the activities of extremist groups, whose footprints are now all over the West African sub-region.

He added that this menace can only be checked when political actors adhere to tolerance and respect rules and regulations, which are key to ensuring peace. He stressed the importance of realizing that despite our political, religious, and ethnic differences, we are one people with a common destiny and urged all to ensure that we hold onto social cohesion as Ghanaians.

The Pru East and West Divisional Police Commander, ACP Godfrey Tetteh Adjirakor, spoke on the topics of monitoring and reporting threats and vulnerabilities to violent extremism, ways to detect youth radicalization and signs of recruitment, as well as mediation and resolution of local conflicts, called for increased community engagement to educate them on relevant issues.

While stressing the important role of parents in monitoring children, the divisional commander said their online activities could be a pointer to their radicalization or vulnerability to extremism, adding that the police will do all in their power to ensure peaceful elections in December.

ACP Tetteh Adjirakor urged community members to resort to alternative dispute resolution, touching on mediation, arbitration, as well as negotiation, and urged political parties to refer disputes to the IPDC for resolution.

Nana Dentwoe Dai, the Apagyahene of the Yeji traditional area, who represented the traditional council, pledged not to interfere with the work of the security services before, during, and after the elections. An official of the district office of the Electoral Commission of Ghana briefed the meeting on the progress of the ongoing limited voter registration exercise, among others.

Participants, including the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the district assembly, religious bodies, youth and women groups, people living with disabilities, and the media, made suggestions towards peaceful elections in December.