The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) has urged electoral stakeholders to ensure a free, fair, and peaceful election without corruption in the impending 2024 elections.

A five-page communique issued by the GPCC urged all election stakeholders to ensure that the 2024 elections are free of electoral malpractice, illegalities, and violence to maintain the country’s peace and stability since the adoption of multiparty democracy.

‘…Regrettably, these elections have also been characterized by monetization, cheating, electoral manipulation, violence, ethnocentrism, and sadly, even deaths. The GPCC is concerned about this unfortunate trend…therefore GPCC calls on the Government and all stakeholders including politicians, the Electoral Commission, the Ghana Police and other security services, the media, the youth, Traditional Leaders, and religious bodies, to ensure that the forthcoming general elections are peaceful, and without any loss of life.

‘The Council calls on all to be vigilant in maintaini
ng and jealously protecting the peace dividend Ghana enjoys’, it stated.

The communique specifically urged politicians, political parties, and the Electoral Commission to be the first to demonstrate a genuine commitment to peace and stability by refraining from acts such as unguarded statements, election monetization, and unprofessional conduct that would compromise the outcome of the electoral process.

‘…GPCC urges all politicians to be circumspect in their utterances, prudent in their engagements, and accommodating in their interactions. They should avoid the use of hate-speech and whipping up ethnocentric sentiments of their constituents.

‘Due to economic hardships in the country, electoral voters tend to be more easily induced by ‘gifts’, vote-buying, and other forms of electoral monetization by politicians. We recognize that this trend is getting worse and has the propensity of compromising the integrity of the electoral process and may in future affect the quality of people that would emerge as leade
rs’ it said.

The communique was issued after the 2024 Conference of Heads of Churches and Organizations (CHoCO) held at the Pentecost Convention Center from Wednesday, February 14 to Thursday February 15, 2024.

The Conference also served as a venue for intercessory prayers for the country and discussion of current topics affecting the citizens.

These discussions covered the Ghanaian economy, the fight against corruption, and youth unemployment.

Source: Ghana News Agency