The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs Charlotte Osei, has advised the public to be wary of half-truths and rumours being presented as facts on social media and some traditional media outlets because of people’s parochial interests.
According to her, the media, especially social media, on a daily basis peddled false news, leaving out the facts because of their parochial interests.
Moreover, the body politic of the country frowned on the truth, making the truth to appear as a secondary issue, she indicated.
Mrs Osei blamed the media, particularly social media for the phenomenom of peddling half-truths and wondered how the country could achieve credible election when that practice persisted on a daily basis.
She asked the public to be wary of false news because most of those pieces of information were based on emotions not facts.
Women Situation Room
Mrs Osei gave the advice at the launch of the Women Situation Room (WSR) in Accra yesterday.
The WSR is a peace-building project that empowers women to be the leading force for democratic and peaceful elections.
The concept was first introduced by Yvette Chesson-Wureh, the coordinator for the Liberia-based Angie Brooks International Centre, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) on women’s empowerment.
The group is expected to provide a platform for women’s groups to strategise, plan and respond rapidly to election-related issues that could result in violence in a coordinated manner.
Intemperate language
Aside from the issue of falsehood, Mrs Osei said she was saddened at the level of intemperate language used by individuals, particularly political actors on a daily basis to incite their followers.
“The ruling party says it will win at all cost and the opposing parties say they cannot lose at any cost. In this situation that we find ourselves in, what can we do?” she asked.
That notwithstanding, she assured Ghanaians of the preparedness of the EC to run smooth and transparent elections on December 7, 2016.
Petition to parties
Before the launch of the project, about 1,000 women clad in white marched through some principal streets of Accra expressing their desire for peace before, during and after the December 7 polls.
Participants held placards with inscriptions such as: “Vote not violence”, “Election not electoral violence” and “Violence in Africa not again”.
The group visited the headquarters of the two main political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to submit a petition on its peace campaign and urged the parties to reaffirm their commitment to peace before, during and after the election.
The parties in turns pledged their commitment to peaceful election and urged the public to complement their effort because “it is everyone’s responsibility to uphold peace in the country”.
The Director of Administration at the NDC Headquarters, Mr Emmanuel Zumakpeh, received the petition on behalf of his party, while the Director of Finance and Administration of the NPP, Dr Charles Dwamena received it on behalf of the NPP.
Cape Coast
Hundreds of women in the Central Region yesterday marched through the streets of Cape Coast to affirm their resolve for peaceful elections, writes Timothy Gobah from Cape Coast.
The march, which was organised by WSR-Ghana, a non-governmental organisation, began from Siwdu and ended at the Jubilee Park where representatives of political parties and institutions took turns to address the participants.
The participants held placards with inscriptions such as, “Be enthusiastic about peaceful and credible elections”, “Peace is in our hands”, “Be patriotic, Ghana needs you alive”.
The National Coordinator of WSR-Ghana, Ms Adwoa Bame, addressing the women, said the organisation decided to undertake the exercise because women and children were usually the victims in the event of violence during elections.
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