I will defend Ghana’s credentials as a pioneer in democratic governance – Akufo-Addo

General news for Thursday, September 17, 2020

Source: 3 News

2020-09-17

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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured Ghanaians that he is determined to protect Ghana’s credentials as a leader in democratic governance on the African continent.

He said this while speaking at the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) Annual Conference on Monday, September 14, 2020.

He assured the Bar Association that his government is making tireless efforts to ensure peace and stability for the nation, as Ghana enters the last three (3) months of the election campaign.

“Ghana has rightly earned a reputation as the leader in democratic governance on the continent, a reputation that I am determined to uphold and indeed enhance before, during and after the December 7 elections,” he said.

To this end, he appealed for the cooperation and assistance of all citizens, especially members of the Bar Association, stating that “we must all work together to create the environment that will allow the people of Ghana to make their decision on December 7 . in freedom, peace and security. It’s your right. “

To conclude, the president added that “when my time is up, hopefully, after four more years, I want to hand over to my successor and to the sovereign people of Ghana, a bigger, fairer, stronger, more cohesive, more prosperous and more united than I met him in 2017. This is the solemn commitment to which I have committed myself ”.

Along with the compilation of a new voter registry, prior to the December 2020 elections, the president explained that “all of these improved processes have strengthened the cohesion of the nation. They have also repudiated as fallacious the claims made at various times in our history that democratic governance would generate instability and ethnic conflict.

He continued: “In fact, there have been those who have even affirmed that democracy was inherently alien to our culture and social structure. The continued success of the Fourth Republic provides the most effective response to this unfortunate point of view. “

With electoral disputes raging in some African countries, President Akufo-Addo declared that Ghana has been spared such incidents, adding that “we have the good sense of the Ghanaian people to thank for this, and we must continue to act as checks and balances. one for the other. “

However, Mr Akufo-Addo noted that Ghanaians cannot and should not take this good fortune for granted, urging all candidates, voters and citizens to behave “in a way that holds us together as one people, regardless of our ethnicity, religion or gender. or political differences and affiliations. The Ghana Project cannot afford ethnic upheavals and sectarian uprisings ”.

He was convinced that the pressing challenge for Ghana is to successfully negotiate the interface between elections and democratic governance, institution building and development, poverty, employment and economic growth, with the primary objective of enriching the dignity of the people. Ghanaians.

“There are many examples of countries around the world where that stable period of constitutional government and smart management of the economy led to general prosperity. We in Ghana can profitably emulate them, because we can do it, if we work on it, ”he added.

Mr. Akufo-Addo expressed his satisfaction with the fact that “the political class and the interested parties have agreed on the need, in the face of the pandemic, to hold the general elections in December as scheduled to promote the evolution of our constitutional order and maintain the culture where executive and legislative power is exercised in the Fourth Republic only by duly elected officials. Ghana’s democracy will be stronger because of that shared commitment ”.