Three Ghanaian men have petitioned the United Nations to ensure that the upcoming election in December goes peacefully.
Elikem Kotoko, Stephen Kwabena Attuh and Issifu Seidu Kudus Gbeadese say the build-up to the elections has been punctuated with violence that is likely to spill into the polls itself.
“…we petition your reputable and respected international organization of which Ghana is a member, to use all avenues possible to engage the political actors of the country to ensure a safer environment towards the upcoming elections and to ensure the sustenance of peace before, during and after the elections of December,” they wrote.
The petition was submitted to the office of the Resident Coordinator of the UN in Accra today August 12, 2020.
It petitioned the numerous instances of violent upheavals since the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election in which the government sent party thugs dressed as National Security operatives to shoot at unarmed civilians.
The three pointed out that after the violence, a committee that was put together to inquire into the violence submitted a report that was, however, largely rejected by the government.
The petitioners also cited the deployment of soldiers to Ghana’s border towns by the government even though the country is not at war and how the soldiers are perpetrating violence.
They called on the UN to get the two main political parties of the country to commit to peace during and after the elections.
This is the second time that the UN has been petitioned because of tension and violence in the country under President Akufo-Addo. Earlier, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had petitioned the UN over the Akufo-Addo government’s ongoing ethnic cleansing against Ewes.