NCCE To Focus 2019 Constitution Week On Eliminating Party Militia

The National Commission for Civic Education, (NCCE) will focus on the role of security services in uprooting the scourge of party militia in this year’s Annual Constitution Week.

The overarching theme is ‘Ghana, One People: Our Values, Our Sovereignty in Participatory Democracy’, sub-themed ‘The Threat of Vigilantism to Our Democracy and Sovereignty: The Role of the Security Services.’

The theme has been selected to highlight the critical role of the security services in the fight against political party vigilantism in the country’s democratic dispensation.

The annual activity commemorates April 28 as the day Ghanaians voted in a referendum to adopt the 1992 Constitution as the fundamental law of the land.

Activities of party militia threaten Ghana’s constitutional democracy and in accordance with Article 233 (b), the Commission is mandated to “educate and encourage the public to defend this Constitution at all times, against all forms of abuse and violation”.

It is in this regard that the Commission considers the role of security agencies as pivotal in working towards disbanding vigilante activities in the country.

This year’s Constitution Week will see the NCCE educating and sensitizing the security services on the menace of vigilantism, its effect on our democracy and political stability and amplify the important role security services must play in eliminating vigilantism and political violence in Ghana.

The NCCE started celebrating Constitution Week in 2001 to amplify its mandate on the education of the citizenry on the tenets of the 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution.

It is also the period where the Commission rallies Ghanaians around the Constitution to take stock of our activities, assess gains and weaknesses and proffer redress to engender constitutionalism.

As the NCCE commemorates the significance April 28 as the day Ghanaians massively endorsed the 1992 Constitution as the framework for democratic governance, the Commission would continue to collaborate and support the Ministry of Information during its 7th January Constitution day when our 1992 Constitution came in to force.

---Myjoyonline