Violence not an option – Mahama

The scaremongering accompanying the forthcoming general elections is pointless because Ghana has held several such national polls in the fourth republic and has come out unscathed, President John Mahama has said.

“… We have elections again, we have no cause to doubt that those elections will be peaceful because we’ve done it six times over and every time we are going to do it, there’s scaremongering – ‘this will happen, that will happen’ – but don’t we trust in God?,” Mr Mahama said at the Royal House Chapel International in Accra on Sunday, 2 October.

He said: “God’s hand and favour is on this country,” adding: “There is not going to be any trouble.

“We have a constitution, we have operated it, if we have an election dispute, we know how it must be handled. Definitely, violence is not an option.”

Mr Mahama, who is seeking a second term in office, said as part of efforts to ensure the December 7 polls are peaceful, “… Whatever we can do as human beings – and I as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ghana – will do to make sure we have a peaceful and successful election. The seventh elections we are going to hold will again be peaceful and successful and whoever God decides must lead us in the next four years, He Himself will decide.”