Chiefs Must Not Declare Open Support For Parties
The Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Municipal Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Neenyi Kofi Tagoe, has appealed to chiefs and queens to desist from declaring open support for political parties.
Neenyi Tagoe, who is also the Chief of Osubaipanyin in the Winneba Municipality, reminded his colleagues of the clause in the 1992 Constitution that debars them from partisan politics, and urged them to abide by it to save their reputation.
Addressing a forum organised by the commission for representatives of political parties, chiefs and the people of Komenda Dominase recently, he said authors of the constitution, in their wisdom, inserted that clause to protect chiefs from engaging in open confrontations with their people who do not belong to the parties they support.
"As agents of development, chiefs will not feel free to lobby for the needs of their people from a government they openly opposed when the parties they support do not win power," Neenyi Tagoe said.
He appealed to Ghanaians, especially politicians, to stop condemning the present and the past governments for doing nothing for the nation.
"We must show appreciation for what the present and the past governments have done for the nation but not to condemn them."
Neenyi Tagoe appealed to the leadership of political parties to mount educational programmes for their supporters on the Political Parties Code for the 2008 election to prevent them from falling foul of the electoral laws.
He appealed to the political parties to abide by the clause in the code which states that, "no political party shall take any initiative for the release of any person arrested for carrying offensive weapons during campaigning and elections and on no account should any party initiate extra legal measures for the release of such persons from lawful custody."
He commended the National Democratic Congress for surrendering its supporters who were involved in violence at Berekum last weekend to the police, and urged other parties to emulate the example to ensure violence free-election.