Regional News of Saturday, 30 July 2016

Source: GNA

2016 polls: Everyone must show good faith - Otumfuo

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, has urged all to show good faith and work together to ensure the success of the coming general elections.

He asked that stakeholders including the political parties, the Electoral Commission (EC), security agencies and the National Peace Council accepted to play it fair to remove suspicion and distrust.

He was receiving the Interior Minister, Mr. Prosper Bani, who was on a two-day official visit to the Ashanti Region to his Manhyia Palace in Kumasi.

Accompanying him, was the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) John Kudalor.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu said everybody must play by the rules of the game to make the general election peaceful and sustain the nation’s multi-party democracy on the path of growth.

He reminded everybody that they had vital contribution to make to protect the peace, stability and unity of the society.

He said it was important to recognize that there could not be any meaningful socio-economic progress amid political conflict and confusion.

Ghana, he noted, had won global admiration for its democracy and that it could not afford any misstep.

The Asantehene encouraged the political parties to make sure that all pertinent issues were addressed at the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meetings.

They should also do everything to talk their supporters out of intolerance and lawlessness, he added.

Mr. Bani gave the assurance that adequate measures had been put in place to prevent violence, fear or intimidation during the election.

The security agencies had been equipped to effectively perform, he stated.

He hailed the Asantehene for the strong leadership he was showing to keep the nation calm, citing the tremendous effort he had been making to peacefully resolve chieftaincy disputes.