The Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana, the Most Reverend Dr Paul Kwabena Boafo has called on political leaders and their followers to be circumspect in their utterances as they campaign for elections in December 2024.

He said, 'They should address issues instead of resorting to insults, use of intemperate language and inflaming passion for conflict.'

The Presiding Bishop in his Christmas and New Year 2024 Message said, 'We may belong to different political parties but that does not make us enemies.'

He said, 'We are first Ghanaians with a common destiny and let us in this Christmas and New Year think, speak, live and work towards peace before, during and after the general elections.'

Most Rev Boafo urged Ghanaians to pray for the victory of Ghana in the coming elections.

He said Christmas was a celebration of the coming of light into the darkness of the world, indicating 'around the world today and in our nation, there are many places and hearts of seeming darkness in all kinds of wars, fear, anxieties and uncertainties of life.'

'Christ who is the greatest gift to humanity by God is our light in a time of despair and darkness and at Christmas, the world longs for the light of God to shine into the dark places of life, especially in our economic, political and financial darkness,' he said.

Most Rev Boafo said though this year had been a challenging one, there was the expectation of a bright tomorrow when all would be well.

He said at Christmas, Ghanaians should live as people of hope, who were expecting Christ's presence to change the situations for the better.

'It is my prayer that we will all step away from the busyness of modernity to allow the timeless message of Christmas to speak to our hearts and our situations and bring the hope that we all need,' he added.

He urged everyone to celebrate Christ's birth into the world and set them on the path of positive defiance of hopelessness, fear, conflict, poverty, and despair.

He said: 'Let us rejoice that the light of Christ promises to banish our darkness. May it brighten our spirits and fill our hearts always and may it light our economic and political way in the coming year.'

'May the occasion of Christmas fill our hearts and souls with more zeal and hope towards life. Wishing you a blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Source:Ghana News Agency