As the December 7, general election approaches, Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has reiterated the need to keep the military away from polling centres on election day.
‘We don’t want to see (the) military during election, when there is the need to call them, they will be called but they should not be at polling or voting centres,’ the Speaker stated Tuesday in his welcome address on day one of the Third Meeting of the Fourth Session of the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana.
On law and governance, Speaker Bagbin quoting Thomas Jefferson said: ‘The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government’.
This, Speaker Bagbin said clearly, was their mandate as legislators.
‘Our citizens deserve better, and we all must collectively unite to uphold their rights and safeguard their freedoms,’ he said.
The Speaker noted that he had therefore, thought it wise to initiate an engagement with the Chairpersons of the Electoral Commission (EC
), the National Media Commission (NMC), the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the National Commission on Civil Education (NCCE) to discuss how Parliament could collaborate and work with them to create the right and just environment for free, fair, peaceful and credible elections.
‘This I believe will inspire confidence in the process and faith in our democratic institutions,’ he said.
We will not do this alone. We will include the President, Council of State, National Security Council, flagbearers and national executives of political parties, the security services, particularly the police, and I emphasize particularly the Police.’
He said the clergy and notable civil society leaders would be actively involved.
Speaker Bagbin said the signs and signals of happenings in the country were not that of assurance and hope.
He said the joblessness, homelessness and hopelessness of the youth could not be taken lightly; saying ‘We must act together and now to prevent a journey to ca
lamity or no return’.
‘Hon. Members, as the English conductor Sir Thomas Beecham once noted, ‘there are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together.’
Speaker Bagbin said: ‘Let us as a political class, start together and finish together. The public doesn’t give a damn what goes on in between.’
He underscored that with these, it was clear that the Members of the House had a significant amount of work ahead of them and he therefore urged all members to prioritize their work and ensure that they make progress on these important matters.
Source: Ghana News Agency