The members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC), have commended all Ghanaians for the peaceful manner in which they have conducted themselves in the December 7 polls.
The Bishops also congratulated all contesting candidates for offering themselves for the service of Ghana.
A statement issued and signed by President of the Bishops Conference, Most Reverend Philip Naameh (Metropolitan Archbishop of Tamale) said despite the success and peaceful conduct of the elections, the Bishops have also noted with concern the loss of lives and injuries suffered by some people in constituencies such as Awutu Senya East, Odododiodio, Ablekuma Central, Bono East, and Savelugu.
The Catholic Bishops called on the leadership of the two major political parties and their supporters to exercise restraint and avoid all forms of violence in the aftermath of the declaration of the Presidential and Parliamentary results by the Electoral Commission.
“Having monitored recent developments on the political scene after the declaration of the results, we wish to humbly appeal to all who have issues with the results to kindly address these issues through the legitimate procedures for redress.”
The statement said,” We equally wish to urge the Electoral Commission to keep engaging all the political parties to ensure that all outstanding electoral issues and grievances are dealt with in the interest of the country.”
“Aware that in every competition there are bound to be winners and losers, we wish to call on all stakeholders to exhibit maturity in accepting both defeat and victory. In this way, reactions to any of the two conditions would be measured, modest, and charitable towards one another.
We, finally, wish to call on the security agencies to be very professional in the exercise of their duties in the aftermath of the declaration of the Presidential and Parliamentary results to protect life and property. Let us always be mindful of the fact that Ghana is all we have as our homeland and so work to maintain the peace and stability that we have always enjoyed as a nation.”
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Kofi Atakora
