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Madam Shlomit Sufa, Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, has urged humanity to strive to create a world where the horrors of the past, including the Holocaust, serve as enduring lessons for all.

She said in memory of those who were killed and for future generations, it was a collective obligation of humanity to remember the lessons of the Holocaust, educate younger generations about the committed atrocities, and stand united against ‘forces seeking to divide us’.

‘I stand here filled with a deep sense of pride and purpose. Yet, at the same time, I stand with a heavy heart and a sense of dismay, reflecting on the lessons that remain unlearned, the enduring presence of hate, and the biases that persist uneroded,’ she said in an emotive address to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Accra on Tuesday.

Ambassador Sufa, speaking at the solemn occasion at the residence of the German Ambassador, Mr Daniel Krull, said as a society, ‘we have an obligation to remember and understand the lessons of the Hol
ocaust so that they serve as a warning where blind hate and racism lead.’

As part of the commemoration, guests, including the diplomatic corps, listened virtually to Miriam Prager, Holocaust survivor in Israel, born on December 16, 1942, braving the odds with resilience in the middle of the war in a small village in Skawina, Poland.

As usual, Jewish prayer and candle lighting for those who died was performed by Rabbi Noach Majeski with other clergymen, Amb. Sufa, Amb. Krull and Mr Charles Abani, UN Resident Coordinator in Ghana.

On January 27 each year, the UN remembers the Holocaust that affected many people of Jewish origin during World War II.

This year’s theme, ‘Recognising the Extraordinary Courage of Victims and survivors of the Holocaust’ acknowledges the bravery of those who resisted nazi dehumanisation and fought for their dignity and humanity.

The Holocaust, or Shoah is the term used to describe the deliberate murder and desecration of over six million people prior to and during World War II in
Germany and German occupied areas in Europe.

The Israeli Ambassador said as Jew hatred spiked around the world, ‘we must urgently act to ensure that the Jewish people can live safely, and Jewish life can thrive, be it in Kfar Aza, Kibbutz Be’eri or anywhere else in the world’.

‘Urgent action against anti-Semitism is required,’ she said, emphasising that there was no place in the 21st century for anti-Semitism.

Mr Abani commended the government and people of the State of Israel and the Federal Republic of Germany for collaborating with the UN to commemorate the solemn occasion, and worried that as the world remembered the Holocaust, the world continued to experience some traits of it.

He said despite the experience with the Holocaust, there was growing political instability, escalating hate and religious bigotry, increasingly driven and amplified through social media , artificial intelligence and information technology.

Mr Abani said, in Ghana, the UN continued to work closely with the government and key
stakeholders to promote human rights, sustainable development, and peace while providing support in mitigating the drivers of hate speech and antisemitism in the Ghanaian space.

Mr Daniel Krull, German Ambassador to Ghana, who bowed in deep sorrow and regret, recounted the role Germans played in the Holocaust, reiterated Germany’s unwavering commitment to upholding the values enshrined in the UN Charter, including the respect for human rights for all and commitment to prevent genocide from happening ever again.

Germany, he assured, had chosen the path of peace and reconciliation when it was allowed to join the UN in 1973, some 50 years ago.

The German Ambassador said ever since, the UN had been an important centre piece in German Foreign Policy as reflected in its continued strong support for peace keeping, humanitarian assistance, achieving SDG, and fighting against climate change among others.

‘Germany strongly engages in fostering a rule based international order, governed by rule of law not only by th
e law of force; an international order where the International Court of Justice must play an important role as an institution where any state can request that alleged violations of international law will be investigated and examined,’ Mr Krull said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

More than half of humanity globally, would be called to the polls to exercise their franchise in Presidential, Parliamentary, regional, or municipal elections in 2024.

It is expected that some?4.1 billion voters could face disinformation in the run up to these elections.

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international not-for-profit entity responsible for safeguarding the right to freedom of information, eight of the world’s ten most populous countries would have elections this year.

Its release signed by Christophe Deloire, Secretary General and shared with the Ghana News Agency says the countries include?the United States, which will organise one of the most important votes for the future of democracy with Ghana as another.

Others are, Mauritania, Uruguay, Mozambique, Rwanda, Indonesia, Chad, Namibia, and Algeria, among others It said elections were moments of great vulnerability for democracies ‘As we have seen already, a?single piece of fake news can completely undermine the integrity
of the vote.’

It gave an example as in Slovakia, a few weeks ago, a fake recording of a politician, produced with artificial intelligence, caused confusion.

The danger of this happening is much greater now due to the spread of easy-to-use software capable of producing content in which it is almost impossible to distinguish authentic from artificial to aid disinformation and misinformation. It said the democratic mechanisms for combating this new type of fake news were not ready, but the elections will go ahead.?

‘This is why access to reliable, unimpeded and independent news reporting is all the more decisive during election periods,’ indicating unfortunately, this access is declining in some countries where journalism has been undermined.

Seeing this,?Reporters Without Borders has decided to make election coverage and the integrity of elections one of its priority areas of work in 2024, and ‘we have already launched some diverse initiatives. ‘

‘We are organising training for journalists, we have designe
d a manual on security during elections to be available in several languages, we are distributing protective equipment, and we are making it possible for journalists to have continued online access if the Internet is cut for political reasons.

We are also using the elections for advocacy targeting candidates, urging them to incorporate our specific proposals for promoting the right to reliable reporting into their programmes,’ it concluded.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary candidate-elect for Offinso North, Dr Fred Kyei Asamoah, has appealed to party supporters to put the primaries behind them and plan towards the December general elections.

He also appealed to the various contestants to put their disappointment behind them and rally the people for victory in the 2024 elections.

Dr. Asamoah made the call when he spoke to the media on Wednesday after his victory over the incumbent Member of Parliament for Offinso North, Mr Augustine Collins Ntim.

He explained that now that the primaries were over, what was needed were unity of purpose, sharing of ideas and seeing how best to get the best election message to the Ghanaian populace so they would retain the party to continue with its good policies.

Dr. Asamoah also indicated that the smooth and peaceful manner in which the recent primaries were held attested to the unity and oneness among members of the party and urged members to maintain their focus.

He thanked Offinso North constit
uency delegates for the honour done to him and the trust reposed in him to represent them during the next general election.

Dr Asamoah pledged to bring all members of the party, especially those who contested the primaries together and engage them during the upcoming campaign.

Dr Fred Kyei Asamoah polled 378 votes to beat the incumbent, Mr Augustine Collins Ntim, who had 231 votes. Mr Rockson Kwaku Adu Boahen who recorded one vote.

This is the first time Dr Fred Kyei Asamoah is contesting in the NPP primaries in the Offinso North constituency.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Edward Omane Boamah, the Director of Elections of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), said there was an overwhelming consensus at the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) Meeting held on Monday, January 29, that any major electoral reforms must be implemented in 2028, and not in 2024.

He said the well thought through decision was to ensure that Ghana had enough time to prepare for the elections.

In a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday, Dr Omane Boama said: ‘At IPAC yesterday, if the political parties had accepted the November proposal, that would have meant Ghana has only eight clear months to prepare for the elections.’

The EC waited for seven years after 2016 without revisiting the issue only to resurrect the subject of voting in November when Ghana had just 10 clear months to the December 7 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, he said.

‘Why did the EC not introduce these discussions, adjustments, and amendments in 2017, 2018, 2019, or better still, why not after the 2020
elections?….’

Meanwhile the EC’s calendar of programmes and activities for the upcoming elections was not yet ready, hence it could not be released to political parties, Dr Omane Boama said.

‘Why wait for January to be ending without stakeholders having the electoral calendar for the 2024 elections?’

‘You don’t wait for an election year to introduce major Electoral Reforms: a year in which the EC has so much to do after an abysmal District Level (Assembly) Elections characterised by postponements after postponements, shortage of ballot papers, some Election Officer’s complicity among others.’

Recalling the Limited Registration of voters in 2023, Dr Omane said: ‘Did you know that another voters’ registration exercise must take place this year? Yet, because the EC’s calendar of activities is not ready, we are left guessing.’

He also mentioned the frequent breakdown of the EC’s equipment and network (system) during the limited registration exercise in 2023, which necessitated shifting to offline registratio
n in some cases.

He said those developments cast some doubts about the procurement of services and equipment and must be investigated and fixed.

Besides, to vote for MPs in November, the EC needed amendment of the 1992 Constitution, Article 112(4).

‘This amendment of a non-entrenched clause requires two-thirds of MPs to pass, meanwhile the MPs themselves must be

in their constituencies for some parts of this year campaigning, and facilitating the registration of voters when the EC finally decides,’ Dr Boama said.

‘Not to think of the duration of the process and other germane issues the EC must bring to the front burner.’

Going forward, Dr Omane Boamah said the EC must immediately release the calendar of activities for 2024.

He recommended that the EC must be focusing on urgent and important activities that would enhance the integrity of the December 7, 2024 elections and punish its erring officials.

‘As was made abundantly clear at the IPAC meeting, we do not expect the EC to wait for another election
year to reintroduce this major reform of voting in November.’

He said the process must end the latest by 2027 to allow political actors enough time in 2028 to concentrate on core concerns in an election year.

In addition, the party was ready to discuss voting on worship days for a workable solution to satisfy people of faith.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The National Peace Council (NPC) has commended the National Democratic Congress

(NDC) for heeding to its appeal to return to the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC).

IPAC is made up of all registered political parties in Ghana, at which the Electoral Commission (EC) engages them with respect to electoral reforms and other related matters.

A statement issued by the Reverend Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, the Chairman of the NPC, copied to the Ghana News Agency, recalled that after the 2020 elections, the NDC decided not to attend the IPAC meetings.

‘This became a matter of concern to all stakeholders in Ghana’s democratic and elections space,’ it said.

‘At a Post-Elections Stakeholders’ workshop organized by the National Peace Council at Ada in 2021, the participants tasked the NPC to facilitate the return of the NDC to IPAC.’

The statement said the Council, therefore, engaged the NDC, the EC and other stakeholders to facilitate the NDC’s return to IPAC.

It said on 14th December 2023, during a stock-taking co
nference, organised by the NPC at Peduase as part of the preparations towards the 2024 elections, the NDC responded to the Council’s appeal by publicly committing to return to the IPAC.

Pursuant to that commitment, the NDC had participated in two recent IPAC meetings on 22nd and 29th January 2024.

The Council was hopeful that the commitment would be sustained to further strengthen the existing democratic credentials of Ghana, the statement said.

It expressed the NPC’s appreciation to the EC, political parties, all political actors and stakeholders within the electoral management system for their support to the NPC in the bid to promote sustainable peace in Ghana.

It urged all stakeholders in the political space to use dialogue and consensus building to ensure a free, fair, credible, and peaceful 2024 elections.

‘In addition, we urge the public to appreciate the fact that peacebuilding can sometimes be a slow process.’

‘Therefore, we must all exercise patience and support the NPC and its partners in buil
ding a sustainable and peaceful country.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Joseph Kumah Mackay, the Sene West constituency Parliamentary Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Bono East Region, has appealed to feuding factions in the Party to reconcile in the interest of the Party.

That, he said would well-position the Party to win more parliamentary seats and ‘break the eight’ in the Elections 2024 and put Ghana on sustainable path of holistic development.

He warned members that the perceived factionalism, internal wrangling and squabbles would put the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on the edge, making it extremely difficult for the NPP to break the eight and retain political power in the next general election.

If not tackled with urgency, continuous factionalism could disintegrate and break the Party’s front to narrow its fortunes in winning the Elections 2024, he said.

Mr Mackay, also the Chief Executive Officer of the Middle Belt Development Authority (MBDA), made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of a meeting hel
d at Kwame-Danso, the constituency’s capital.

The Parliamentary Candidate met, interacted, and reconciled with the three other parliamentary aspirants of the Party and their followers who contested him in the NPP’s orphan constituency parliamentary primaries.

Mr Mackay said upon the successful election of the NPP’s Parliamentary candidates, it was therefore imperative for them to do more to resolve emerging internal problems and ensure that all disgruntled members and supporters were brought back on board for a vigorous campaign.

He said with absolute unity and a formidable front, the Party would be able to maintain and re-capture the parliamentary seats it lost to the NDC in the Elections 2020.

Mr Mackay explained that he had been the Parliamentary candidate for the NPP since 2008 and his determination was not only to win the Sene West seat, but to also ensure that their Party widened vote margins in the Presidential election too.

‘In fact, it has not been easy, but this time we are sure of winning the
parliamentary seat because our development achievements in the constituency are glaring for all to see,’ he stated.

Accompanied by some Bono East Regional and Sene West constituency executives of the NPP, Mr Mackay later called on members of the Wiase Traditional Council, to introduce himself for support.

Source: Ghana News Agency