Ghana must maintain Africa respect again

The Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA) has called on Ghanaians to use Friday's general elections to further consolidate the democratic gains that the country has made over the last two decades. In a statement issued last Tuesday and signed by FOSDA Communication Officer Abubakar Siddique Salifu said, “as we head to the polls for the sixth successive time, Ghanaians should not loose sight of thefact that the world and particularly Africa is keenly watching for yet a success story from Ghana. This wouldnot only confirm Ghana’s democratic gains but also it would show the light and encourage other African countries to follow in the footsteps of Ghana.” The statement explained that Africa has been throughmany flawed elections, some of which have degenerated into violence and even civil war. However, it says, for many years, Ghana has stood out by avoiding these pitfall and has become a trueAfrican success story with regard to organising transparent and peaceful elections. Ghanaians have come to accept ballots, not bullets, as the surest way toelect their leaders, the statement explained. It followed this praise with the warning that, “we cannot afford to be complacent and urge Ghanaians to be vigilant and guard our well earned democracy.” "In guarding our democracy, we have to ensure that events that could undermine this noble asset, such as thescuffles that ensued at Manyia, Kyebi and Odododiodioo, should be put behind us and march forwardbeyond 7th December,” it said. The release also called on political party supporters and security agencies not to imperil the peace of the country through their actionson Election Day. “In the end, there can only be one winner. That winner would be the president for Ghanaians, not for any particular political party. It would be so beautiful to see the waving of Ghana flag at the grounds of victory speech of the new president elect as we saw in the case of the United States of America in the just ended 2012 presidential elections where there was no display of party colours. Our democracy is maturing and it’s the responsibility of all Ghanaians to support it. We are for ‘ballots,’ not ‘bullets’,” the statement concluded