The Executive Director of the West Africa Network for Peace-Building (WANEP), Mr. Emmanuel Bombande, has stressed the need for a culture of dialogue amongst Ghana’s main political players as a means of minimizing tensions and promoting frank exchange of ideas. He said it is becoming increasingly clear that there was the need for an institutionalized means to facilitate exchange of ideas among the political players in order to nurture a culture of openness and tolerance in Ghana’s body polity to promote enduring harmony. Mr. Bombande, who made these observations when he chaired a forum of the Inter-Party Youth Committee (IPYC) at Koforidua, also expressed the need for well-laid out mechanism for the prevention of conflicts in the country, especially in the run-up to this year’s general elections. The IPYC is an amalgamation of the youth-wings of four political parties in the country, namely, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Convention Peoples’ Party, the Peoples’ National Convention (PNC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP). The main aim of the IPYC is to stimulate frank exchange of ideas and respect for divergent views amongst their members as a way of toning down tensions generated by political campaigns in the country. Mr Bombande described the formation of the IPYC as unique, because it could force the unscrupulous persons in political entities who sometimes use the youth as cannon fodders to foment trouble to rethink their strategies. He said if the IPYC is to succeed in translating its ideals that could force Ghanaian politics to change overtime, it is necessary to incorporate in its body, the ethos of celebrating divergent opinions as a way of deepening democracy. Speaking on political discipline as a conduit for violence-free elections, the Youth organizer of the PNC, Mr Emmanuel Wilson, urged political parties to adhere to the ground rules of elections, especially the Political Parties Act as a way of preventing violence. In addition, he said the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Judiciary must discharge their work above board to inspire confidence in the political process. Mr. Wilson’s prescriptions were supported by Mr. Kofi Adams, Deputy National Youth Organizer of the NDC who also demanded a dispassionate and non-partisan approach from the media and security agencies in their dealings with political parties. He said when institutions of the state show open bias for one political party against the rest, this could precipitate dissent and might lead to conflict situations. A member of the NPP youth wing, Mr Alex Quartey, implored the youth to avoid all acts that have the penchant of encouraging violence in the country, while his counterpart in the CPP, Mr James Kwabena Bomfeh, called for a national youth policy to guide government on the special needs of the youth. Ibrahim Tahiru, a Programmes Officer of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), sponsors of the programme, emphasized the need for the development of a cadre of politically active youth to forestall violent conflicts such as the situation in Zimbabwe. Source: GNA