The Evangelical Presbyterian (EP) Church, have declared a two-week national fasting and prayer session towards a peaceful election on December 7.

A statement issued in Accra on Wednesday by Reverend Godwin Kwaku Osiakwa, Clerk of the General Assembly, and made available to the Ghana News Agency said the fasting started on November 1 and will end on November 15.

It said the decision, which was taken at the Church’s Fourth General Assembly held in August, took into consideration acts of disparaging comments, tension and distrust exhibited by some politicians.

It said the Assembly was also influenced by electoral violence and political unrest that had rocked neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire and some African countries.

“Taking a cue from the negative impact of displacement, development setbacks and extreme polarisation along partisan and ethnic lines afflicting these countries, the Church is urging all Ghanaians, especially political leaders and their followers to be guided by their faith and exercise high sense of tolerance and patience in the wake of any form of provocation,” the statement noted.

The Church also called on state security services and other key actors in the electoral process, particularly the Electoral Commission, to rise to the task of ensuring sanity, order and fairness in the conduct of the election.

“The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, is committed to its mission of ‘Bringing light to where there is darkness and will continue to proclaim the gospel for sustainable peace, harmony and development to prevail in the country,” the statement said.