The Institute of Security and Safety Policy Research (ISSAPR), a civil society organization and security think tank in collaboration with Jatikay Center for Human Security and Peacebuilding has held a one-day northern sector training and capacity building programme on Election and Security Management for media, security agencies and political party representatives to build their capacities in monitoring and reporting on elections and security related issues. The training program is part of ISSAPR’s nationwide training activities for stakeholders including the media, security agencies, political parties, chiefs, opinion leaders and the youth towards ensuring peace before, during and after the 2020 elections. Participants drawn from various media houses and security agencies including police, prisons, immigration, BNI were taken through topics such as elections and conflicts in Africa, role of media in security and peace building during elections, political patronage and electoral violence and internal security and election monitoring. In a welcome address, Director of Research and Policy Analysis at the Institute, Mr. Moses Jatuat underscored the need for the media and security agencies to exhibit high level of professionalism in the discharge of their functions so as to maintain the existing peace and stability of the region and Ghana as a whole, and was hopeful the training which is being held throughout the country will equip the stakeholders with the necessary skills to provide excellent public service on election and security coverage as the nation inches into the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections. He charged security agencies and media to collaborate and ensure the best interest of the public is served. The chairman of the event, Alhaji Razak Saani, northern regional director, NCCE commended ISSAPR and Jatikay Center for organizing the workshop in Tamale and emphasized the need for citizen participation in the democratic governance of the country and that the prevalence of freedom and inclusiveness were key to a free democratic society. On her part, Madam Janet Chigabatia of the National Peace Council called for citizens to co-exist peacefully and use appropriate means to address disputes. She further expressed the NPC’s continuous efforts in engaging with all stakeholders in ensuring peace before, during and after the general elections. Mr. Lucas Yieyel, Ag. The Regional Director of the Electoral Commission assured the public of the ECs mandate to ensure free, fair and transparent elections. He also indicated that the Electoral Commission will be undertaking a two-day exhibition exercise in September and urged the public to participate in the exercise so as to compile a credible register for the upcoming 2020 general elections. A representative of the regional police commander, Chief Supt. Issifu Tank Iddrissu assured the public of maximum security during the election processes, adding that the Tamale Metropolitan Election Security Taskforce has mapped out strategies to effectively address security threats from identified conflict hotspots and violence-prone areas in the area. Present at the event were the Northern Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education, Alhaji Razak Saani, Acting Northern Regional Director of Electoral Commission, Mr. Lucas Yieyel, representative of National Peace Council, Madam Janet Chigabatia, representative of the Northern regional house of chiefs Kasulana Naa Yakubu Bukari, Vicar-General of the Tamale Catholic Archdiocese, Very Rev. Fr. Mathew Yitiereh, Northern regional Chief Imam, Alhaji Abdul Salam, Head of Ahmaddiya Mission in Tamale, Maulvi Omar Abdul Hakeem, representative of regional police commander, Chief Supt. Issifu Tanko Iddrissu, Northern regional Public Relations Officer of Prisons, DSP David Afatsawu, Officer-In-charge of Tamale Female Prisons, DSP Doris Ameku and Head of enforcement at northern regional immigration command ASI Joseph Sosu. Facilitators of the training event included Mr. Sadiq Adu-twum, Executive Director of the Institute of Security and Safety Policy Research, Mr. Moses Jatuat, Director of Research and Policy Analysis at the Institute of Security and Safety Policy Research, Mr. Adib Saani, Executive Director of Jatikay Center for Human Security and Peacebuilding, and Mr. Albert Yelyang, National Network Co- ordinator of West African Network for Peacebuilding, WANEP-Ghana. Participants at the event expressed satisfaction with the training and called on ISSAPR to organize more of such programmes in issues of conflict, peace security. Source: GhanaWeb

Wa, Nov. 14, GNA – Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister has appealed to the media to promote national cohesion and peace-building before, during, and after the December 7 elections. By this, he admonished the media to desist from carrying reports that would divide and threaten the peace of the country, saying, “It is a truism that the media can make or destroy this country”, therefore the need for the media to be circumspect in their reportage. Dr Bin Salih made the appeal to the media in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Gilbert Nuuri-teg, the Regional Coordinating Director during the opening of a workshop on election and security for regional stakeholders towards a peaceful 2020 general elections. The programme, a collaborative venture between Aman Centre for Democracy, Security, and Counter-Terrorism in Africa (ACDS-Africa) and Jatikay Center for Human Security and Peace-building is part of nationwide capacity building activities for relevant stakeholders including the media, security agencies, political parties, chiefs and youth groups towards peaceful 2020 elections. Dr Bin Salih noted that the training would undoubtedly contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 16 (SDG 16), which was aimed at ensuring peace, justice, and strong accountable democratic institutions for security, stability, and national cohesion. He said Ghana had a record of holding several successful Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in the Fourth Republic without any major incident, adding that this had no doubt earned the country respect from the international community. “Even in cases where there were issues with the election results, the aggrieved parties and individuals resorted to the law courts and not violence to resolve their grievances”, he said and stressed that they needed to sustain the record. The Regional Minister whilst admonishing relevant stakeholders to play their various roles effectively to ensure successful and peaceful elections, also assured that the Regional Security Council would put in place adequate security measures to ensure peaceful political campaigns leading to peaceful polls in the region on December 7. Mr Moses Jatuat, Director, Research and Policy Analysis, ACDS-Africa, noted that issues of elections were becoming a serious threat to the security and civility of nations across the globe of which Ghana was not an exception. He, therefore, added that efforts such as the training of stakeholders allowed them to redouble efforts towards consolidating the democratic gains chalked by the nation. Delivering a presentation on the topic “Role of the media in Security and Peace-building during elections”, Mr Adib Saani, Executive Director, Jatikay Center for Human Security and Peace-building admonished the media to be very mindful in conflict-sensitive reporting to protect social cohesion. He said the practice of engaging in sensationalism to sell had the potential to cause social disintegration and therefore encouraged media houses to prioritize the general good of society over the interest of the media house. “When wrong, eat the humble pie, retract and apologize”, Mr Saani advised. “In this election, accuracy, fairness, balanced and responsible reportage is highly important and the media must therefore desist from relying on unofficial sources for election results adding that verification of information on social media was extremely key to avoid misinformation”. Source: Ghana News Agency