Tribal, religion-based campaigns are a threat to national unity – NCCE boss

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has appealed to political parties and supporters to avoid tribal-based campaigns in the upcoming general elections because they are a threat to national unity.

The NCCE has therefore encouraged all political parties and their supporters to consider themselves first as one people and as Ghanaians belonging to one nation called Ghana above all other considerations.

“The practice whereby some political actors would say because he is from this place and the other one is also from that place, holding on with the intention of encouraging the people to vote on ethnic lines, is by itself dangerous and a threat to national unity and interrelations among the people and could destroy the democratic credentials of the country”, the NCCE noted.

Madam Addy also raised concern about religious intolerance, which was progressing and taking shape in Ghana’s political cycles in recent years and urged political parties to take a critical look at its emergence and nip it in the bud because identifying and voting on religious affiliations and considerations would not augur well for Ghana’s democratic dispensation.

The NCCE Chairperson similarly spoke against extreme partisanship in our body politics and advised that supporters of different political parties should not see themselves as enemies but as legitimate opponents who go out there to undertake a competition and that must not be misconstrued to mean they were enemies.

Madam Addy warned political parties against vote buying because such practice was divisional as it created the opportunity for the financially endowed political parties to lord it over the less endowed parties, causing intolerance and underdevelopment in the communities.

She advised the youth to be more patriotic and stand firm against political actors and extremists who would want to source their support to disturb the peace of the country during and after the elections.