Western Regional Minister calls for peace before, during and after December polls

The Western Regional Minister, Mr. Okyere Darko-Mensah has called on politicians, party supporters and the public to ensure peaceful and incident free polls in December. He said elections were about political parties being able to effectively market their policies, manifestos which would attract support and votes and not a battle filed to kill and maim people. 'It is not the wish of any political party that anyone should lose his or her life because of elections,' the Minister said. He said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was committed to ensuring peaceful and incident free elections and that the party would do everything in its capacity to have a credible and violent free poll. Mr. Darko-Mensah who is also the Member of Parliament for Takoradi said this when he joined parishioners of the Our lady Star of the Sea Catholic Cathedral in Takoradi for mass to thank the lord and ask for God's blessings in his campaigns. He also used the occasion to appeal to the parishioners to pray for the Vice President Dr Ma hamudu Bawumia who celebrates his birthday on October 7, 2024. The Regional Minister said Dr Bawumia has very cordial relationship with the catholic church that they should use the good relationship between them to vote massively for Dr Bawumia and him (Mr. Darko- Mensah) to enable them to implement the good policies of the NPP. He said in 2012 the party was dedicated to the Lord with the slogan the 'battle is the lord's' and that in 2020, the party was again dedicated to the Lord, stressing that 2024 was a crucial election and that the party was once again dedicating itself to the lord. Mr. Darko-Mensah explained that the party's free SHS policy has been able to enroll 5.7 million students, which he said meant every family nationwide was a beneficiary of the programme. He said the government had also initiated the Post COVID -19 youth investment programme which gives grants, start-up kits and other tools and urged the youth to take advance of the programme to create jobs for themselves. He later donated GHC 10,000 towards the cathedral vestry's construction. Reverend Fr. Lawrance Krah, the Cathedral Administrator commended the team for the visit and donation and prayed for the Party and its members. Source: Ghana News Agency