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          Observers Worry About Ghana's 'Dangerous' Political Rivalry

   by Peter Clottey

   The growing post-election political unrest between the ruling National
   Democratic Congress (NDC) and the main opposition New Patriotic Party
   (NPP) has created political tension within the country and growing
   concern among officials in the [1]West Africa Network for Peacebuilding
   (WANEP) in Accra.
   The NPP has called on the Supreme Court to overturn the result of the
   December 7, 2012 presidential election. They say they went to the court
   after gathering voter data from more than 26,000 polling stations
   across the country.
   "The NPP is contesting the results of the election and this is
   obviously creating some uneasiness among the population because the
   international community and a majority of Ghanaians said the election
   was free and fair," says WANEP vice chairperson Catherine Bob-Millar.
   WANEP provides consultative support to civil society, government and
   other groups in the countries belonging to the Economic Community of
   West African States. The organization is working closely with Ghana's
   security agencies to prevent violence from breaking out after the
   Supreme Court rules on the NPP petition.
   Bob-Millar says the political situation has been worsened by what she
   described as political polarization that could threaten the country's
   democratic culture. She urges the nation to deal with the election
   challenge carefully so as to avoid violence.
   With the NPP's election challenge now before the high court, she says
   it is important that all sides exercise patience. "We pray that
   whatever the outcome of the case, each of these political parties
   should accept it in good faith," the WANEP official said.
   "The way forward is to allow the court to follow the due process," says
   Bob-Millar. "We should all wait patiently and see the outcome and we
   should be very careful in the way we talk so we will not create any
   situation of conflict."
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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/observers-worry-about-ghanas-dangerou
   s-political-rivalry-/1865775.html

References

   1. http://www.wanep.org/wanep/
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/observers-worry-about-ghanas-dangerous-political-rivalry-/1865775.html