“Elections are means of testing Ghana’s democratic credentials, its processes as well as systems and politicians must conduct political campaigns devoid of insults, provocative language and aggression”, she said.

It would be in the best interest of all to see Ghana as a beacon of peace on the African continent after the December polls, she said. Mrs Bob-Milliar was addressing political party representatives, youth groups, market women, queen mothers’ as well as media practitioners among others at a workshop in Wa.

The Upper West Rural Women Association in collaboration with the Young Entrepreneurs Association organised the forum with financial support from the US Embassy to serve as an engagement platform to lobby key stakeholders and organisations on the need for a peaceful election in the forthcoming general elections.

The participants were taken through various topics including: “civic responsibility” and “peaceful elections”, “electoral reforms” and “electoral violence”.Mrs Bob-Milliar said Ghanaians should see themselves as one people with a common destiny and must therefore make it a collective responsibility of ensuring a violence free elections in December 7 elections.

Mr Annoh Jackson, the Wa Municipal Director of the Electoral Commission (EC), assured the public that his outfit has taken the needed steps to ensure that peace is maintained in the country.

“I have been engaging with political parties through the District Inter-Party Advisory Committee (DIPAC) consisting of all registered political parties in the municipality on the need to educate their followers and sympathisers on the appropriate ways of campaigning so as not to infringe on the rights of others”, he said.

Madam Edna Bosompem, a representative of the United States Embassy, said it is in the interest of the US government to ensure that the peace that the nation is currently enjoying remains intact.

She announced that the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) which is President Barak Obama’s special legacy for raising competent leaders for Africa, which began in 2010, has opened nominations.

Madam Bosompem urged the youth to take advantage of it to acquire quality leadership training to champion development in Africa. The participants jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to pledge their commitment to upholding the peace of the country.