Dr Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister, has urged the youth to be vigilant and resist any attempt by someone or group of persons to engage in electoral violence as the nation prepares for the December 7th polls.
The youth, he said, were likely to be targeted by self-seeking politicians to foment trouble in the run up to the December general elections and warned that this could be counterproductive to the sustenance of peace in the country.
He reminded them of their constitutional mandate to use their energies, expertise and skills for productive ventures, saying it was the responsibility of the Ghanaian youth not to repeat the mistakes of other war-torn African countries.
Dr. Agyemang-Mensah, who was addressing a peace rally at the Jubilee Park in Kumasi on Sunday cited the untold hardships and calamities that befell some youth who engaged in such violence.
The rally was organized by the Ashanti Regional Cadet Corps and had in attendance about 5,000 pupils and students drawn from 75 schools.
It aimed at creating awareness about the role of the youth in ensuring incident-free elections.
"The Youth as Tools for Peaceful Elections" was the theme.
The Minister called for regular sensitization workshops and educational programmes to create the awareness for peaceful polls.
Dr. Agyemang-Mensah urged the Cadet Corps to liaise with other related organizations with the view to embarking on outreach programmes to demonstrate to the people the negative effects inherent in electoral violence.
Mr. Felix Atingyena, the Regional Cadet Commander, enumerated the significance of the concept of cadet in nation building and noted that it helped in moulding the youth into responsible adults.