The Ashanti Regional Office of the National Peace Council (NPC), in collaboration with the STAR Ghana Foundation, has engaged political parties in the region on alternative dispute resolution ahead of the 2024 general election.

With funding from the British High Commission, the engagement sought to enhance the knowledge and skills of political parties on alternative dispute resolution mechanisms for addressing intra- and inter-party conflicts.

In attendance were representatives from the National Democratic Congress, the New Patriotic Party, the Convention People’s Party, the People’s National Convention, the National Democratic Party, and the All People’s Congress.

The rest were the Great Consolidated Popular Party, the Ghana Union Movement, the Progressive People’s Party, and the Liberal Party of Ghana.

The two-day event was co-facilitated by the Department of Peace and Development Studies of the University of Cape Coast.

The Right Reverend Dr Nuh Ben Abubekr, the Regional Chairman of the Council, said conflict was inevitable in every society and that the outcome was not always destructive but sometimes brought about social change.

He said it was important to establish mechanisms and peace infrastructure to manage such conflicts when they arose and prevent them from escalating into violence.

The NPC, he said, continued to raise awareness on the use of non-violent strategies to respond to conflicts through networking, coordination, and campaigning in partnership with other development actors to ensure peace in the country.

Rt. Rev. Dr Abubekr reminded the participants that the region remained vulnerable to intermittent communal violence, chieftaincy disputes, youth clashes, demonstrations, radicalism, violent extremism, as well as intra and inter-ethnic conflicts.

“While our four republics have given Ghana eight consecutive free and fair election transitions, we cannot overlook the threat that electoral violence poses to our peaceful coexistence and consensus,” the Regional Chairman noted.

He implored political actors not to be quick to resort to violence and chaotic behaviour whenever tensions arose, bearing in mind that the use of dialogue for the negotiation of all human needs had proven to be effective in the settlement of all misunderstandings.

“I appeal to the leaders of the political parties, especially the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and former President John Dramani Mahama, to desist from any acts that can incite violence as the nation gets closer to the impending elections,” he said.

He said the looming threat of terrorism in the West Africa sub-region, coupled with other security challenges facing the country, was an indication of the need for every individual to help sustain efforts to mitigate existing and emerging threats to national peace and security.

The participants from the various political parties unanimously applauded the NPC for the engagement, which they said was the way to go to build consensus ahead of the elections.