Tolon District NCCE holds Inter-party Dialogue to prevent violent extremism

The Tolon District Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), with funding support from the European Union, has held its Inter-party Dialogue Committee (IPDC) meeting on preventing and containing violent extremism.The meeting, held at Tolon, afforded stakeholders the opportunity to deliberate on peace, tolerance and countering violent extremism before, during and after this year's general election.It was attended by representatives of political parties, women and youth groups, the District Assembly, faith-based organisations, traditional rulers, security agencies, people living with disability, and the Electoral Commission, among others.Madam Abdul-Rahaman Hawa, the Tolon District Director of NCCE, speaking during the meeting, said violent extremism and terrorism continued to remain a serious challenge to the preservation of democratic governance.She said terrorism and other forms of violence, including violent extremism, had the potential to derail the country's democratic gai ns, especially as she prepared for the elections.It was, therefore, imperative that steps were taken to prevent the use of electioneering to perpetuate violence, either by internal or external forces, hence the meeting.She called on committee members to work hard to prevent political conflict in the region, no matter the outcome of the elections.Mr Benjamin Teye, the Tolon District Director of the Electoral Commission, who facilitated the meeting, took participants through the electoral processes, and violent extremism and said although the country had never encountered any terrorist attack, the youth should stay away from involving themselves in such activities and desist from electoral violence.The Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Gladstone Kumekpor, Tolon District Police Commander, expressed the need for more sensitisation of the youth to eschew violence, and rather promote peace, unity and development.He urged participants to respect the electoral rules and regulations to ensure peace, d uring and after the 2024 election.The participants pledged to reject political vigilantes and called for IPDC meetings to be held regularly to design a roadmap to discourage violence and insecurity in the country.Source: Ghana News Agency