Give 'Machomen' A Chance In December Polls - Rev. Deegbe

The Christian Council of Ghana says it wonders why members of the Machomen for Peace are not being considered for any role in ensuring that the upcoming general elections are conducted in a secured atmosphere. According to the council, despite the suspicions that could shroud the group and its members, it will not be out of place to consider engaging them and other groups for the sake of a peaceful electoral process. The Electoral Commission and other parties have declined using the Machomen for Peace and Development to beef up security at the various polling stations on Election Day. The Christian Council of Ghana has also set up a group of eminent persons to ensure issues that fuelled tension in the 2008 elections are not repeated in the upcoming December elections. Speaking on Breakfast XYZ, the General Secretary of the Christian council, Reverend Dr. Fred Deegbe said stakeholders may have to assess and consider the role all groups prepared to ensure peace in the December polls. �This is a very interesting country, these are Machomen who say we want to work for peace and maybe people are suspicious of them, somebody should give them a chance� Mr. Deegbe said. He added �maybe we should all look at them and see how best we can use them. Some of the things they want to do, grab ballot boxes and all that, those are the domain of the Police but what else can they do. We should look at them because they are all part of civil society groups who want to help�.