Vice-president John Dramani Mahama is optimistic the 2012 elections will be peaceful irrespective of who or which party emerges the winner.
The Electoral Commission, the main arbiter in the 2012 elections, would be resourced and strengthened, as well as other relevant bodies to ensure that election results pass the credibility test, Mr Mahama assured.
Speaking at a round-table discussion organized by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in Accra during the visit of UK MP Henry Bellingham Friday, the Vice-president reposed confidence in Ghana scaling over any election-related conflicts as being experienced in other countries.
“I believe that Ghana will continue to deepen democracy and continue to be a model of democracy on this continent. I believe we will have successful elections in 2012; may the best party win but Ghana will still be here and be a model of democracy.”
Two leading members of the opposition New Patriotic Party, Dr Arthur Kennedy and Ms. Ursula Owusu had earlier posed questions to the Vice-President Mahama bordering on fostering unity between the two leading parties in the country before and after elections.
Even though there have been isolated cases of violence during elections, according to the Vice-President, the situation is not all that bad, and that Ghanaians can “credit ourselves with what we have achieved in terms of our elections and our democracy”.
Ghana’s Electoral Commission was singled out by the Vice-President for doing “creditably well” in ensuring peaceful elections in Ghana. He however had a word of caution for the commission ahead of the 2012 parliamentary and presidential elections.
“I think the Electoral Commission should not let its guard down. I mean the last district level elections were not reflective of the kind of standard we are used to from this commission.”
To further deepen the success chalked in setting the country as a beacon of democracy, Mr Mahama charged on all stakeholders to play their respective roles to ensure that the commission maintains the standard it has set for the whole of Africa.
“Normally violence and disagreements emerge in two circumstances, in circumstances where the stakes are very high, and often it is in the interest of various political groupings to raise the stakes, and so that is why civil society and organisations like the IEA [and] traditional rulers come in. When the temperature is getting a bit too high it is for them to step in.”