Political party enthusiasts have been advised not to abuse the privileges of democracy, since it has the tendency of plunging the country into chaos.
Speaking during a radio interview on Sunyani’s Metro FM last Wednesday, the Director of Newspapers at Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, urged enthusiasts not to allow their political party affiliations and fanaticism to cloud their judgement as the country was preparing for the polls in December.
According to him, democracy provides an opportunity for idea sharing and consensus building but not for throwing words at each other.
“Democracy isn’t about war of words but giving everybody the fair opportunity to express their opinions on issues. At the end, democracy ensures peace and progress. It is about having patience for other parties to express themselves and taking lessons from it; but if we fail to reach a consensus, then democracy has failed and peace will be threatened,” he said.
The radio interview formed part of activities of the Graphic Town Hall meeting in the Brong Ahafo Region.
Town Hall meeting
The meeting in Sunyani, which was the second in the series of Town Hall meetings by the GCGL for the 2016 Election, is aimed at giving the electorate and political parties the platform to interact and pledge peace.
Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh also advised party enthusiasts to be honest to themselves in their daily discourse.
“No matter your party affiliation, when there is progress or development in society, we all enjoy the fruits thereof. So why don't we all come together and agree on the way forward for our country. When our judgement is clouded by party colours, we fail to acknowledge the facts on the ground,” he said.
He explained further that, “for example, when you go to the market, you won't buy an item at a reduced price because you are affiliated to one party or the other. We are not in politics to fight but to sell ideas and ensure progress.”
As a media outlet, Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh noted that it was Graphic’s responsibility to ensure that every political party was given a fair platform to interact with the electorate. Thus, the need for the Town Hall meetings.
“So, any time we are getting close to elections year we recognise that responsibility to ensure peace,” he added.
Graphic’s responsibility
For his part, the Political Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Kobby Asmah, said Graphic would always work hand in hand with the political parties to ensure that the peace of the country was not threatened.
Explaining the rationale for the Town Hall meetings, Mr Asmah noted that the idea was to bring the political parties and their constituents together to interact so that they could understand the policy direction of the political parties, as well as for the constituents to make known their needs.
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