- The CDD-Ghana in a statement indicated that its 'Post-Elections Accountability on Elections Security' project, has been tracking the status of electoral violence cases recorded in the 2020 elections in 11 Constituencies from six out of the 16 administrative regions in Ghana.
Election stakeholders, including state and non-state actors, have pledged to work together to ensure the speedy resolution of all election-related violent cases recorded during the 2020 electioneering period.
This follows a forum organised by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), with support from the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), and in collaboration with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) for the victims and families affected by the 2020 electoral violence, the Ghana Police Service, the National Peace Council, political parties and the media.
The CDD-Ghana in a statement indicated that its ‘Post-Elections Accountability on Elections Security’ project, has been tracking the status of electoral violence cases recorded in the 2020 elections in 11 Constituencies from six out of the 16 administrative regions in Ghana.
According to CDD-Ghana, “the project seeks to advocate for the speedy resolution of all the cases to engender public trust in the security and criminal justice system and limit the tendency for potential reprisal attacks in future elections”.
As part of efforts to achieve this goal, the forum was organized to help bridge the gap between the victims/families and the State, security agencies and criminal justice institutions to engender trust amongst them in the pursuit of justice.
The project “also sought to provide the victims and affected families a safe space to share their stories and challenges in seeking justice while giving them access to credible information from key stakeholders on their respective cases”.
Josephine Nkrumah, chairperson of NCCE who doubles as the chair of the Project Advisory Committee of the ‘Post-Elections Accountability on Elections Security’ project, emphasized that the wheels of justice move slowly, and the sharing of information and the search for peace are the elements that speed it up.
She said: “What we require across the board are justice and compensation. Justice does not happen by chance. If you want justice, you must pursue justice. Ghana must transition from a period of violence associated with elections to elections that come and go peacefully for all of us. As hard as it is, let us not harbour in us, any mindset of retribution, of revenge, of reprisal attacks. Violence begets violence and that will not auger well for us as a country.”
In addition, she recommended for the State to provide psychological support services for the victims and affected families to help them manage the trauma they experienced.
For his part, Alhaji Shaibu Yakubu, with the Bono Regional Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, encouraged the victims, affected families, and the public not to withhold any information because the Police cannot effectively prosecute a case without evidence.
He further assured that the Ghana Police Service is committed to bringing a logical conclusion to all the cases for justice to prevail.
The ‘Post-Elections Accountability on Elections Security’ project is supported by WANEP, with funding from the European Union (EU).
Nicholas Brown
Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online
99.5 in Accra, 90.7 in Ho, 98.5 in Kumasi, 99.7 in Tamale, 89.5 in Tarkwa, 100.3 in Cape Coast and 106.9 in Walewale
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
#AsaaseRadio
#TheVoiceofOurLand
