Catholic church prepares to support elections in Africa

The Church has been urged to take active part in the organisation of credible elections in Africa. Indeed, it must create the platform to help Christians find a way to contribute to peaceful elections and democracy in on the continent.Bishop Boniface Ziri, Chairman of the Episcopal Commission of Justice and Peace, Cote d'Ivoire, said the Church must be able to observe elections on the continent for first hand information and not rely on people's opinion. He noted the Catholic Church has always exhorted political parties to understand their roles; that their selfish interest must not prevail over the general interest. "Our ability to do this would be a sign of deeper concern that we have embraced the rule of law. We should not consider ourselves as enemies. We should run away from tribalism and avoid involving ourselves in conflict. "It should be possible for the Church in Africa to make contributions and suggestions to make the system better. Its role before and after elections should contribute to a society where religious, ethnic and political differences should not prevent people from living together."Bishop Ziri was speaking at a workshop in Accra on promoting peaceful elections in Africa. He spoke on the theme, "The Role of the Church in Supporting the Organisation of Peaceful and Credible Elections in Africa". He bemoaned the amassing of wealth by some leaders while the interests of citizens were not catered for; others were manipulating the media to mislead and whether information is reflective of real situation or not was not an issue to them. He regretted that lies have been taken to the highest level coupled with the stealing of natural resources such that people do not trust the system any longer. He said the Church is called upon to stand up and face the situation equally. "We should not neglect any of the issues since that is part of the salvation we need to bring to the people. [We] must remain very closely attached to our people so we can understand them and bring adequate solution and a deeper transformation to them." The Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) jointly organised the workshop in response to the commitment of the Catholic Church and its faith-based associates to actively support actions that ensure peaceful and credible outcomes in the about 22 parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled to take place between now and December 2012 across the continent of Africa. Hence, the workshop was designed as practical learning opportunity built on experience sharing and specialist resource input from a broad section of state and civil society actors. In a welcome address, the Most Rev. Paul Bemile, Episcopal Chairman for Governance, Justice and Peace, Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference, stated the bishops of Africa are unanimous in their position that the common good should always find legal expression in the constitution. He said they have also called on African leaders to conscientiously exercise stewardship and uphold the common good over the interests of family, clan, ethnic group or political party and to protect and promote the social, economic, political and religious rights of every citizen. "For democratic elections legitimize the exercise of power and failure to respect a national constitution, the fundamental law of the country, manipulating the results of free, fair and transparent election, all such acts become unacceptable under any circumstance."As Church, our concern for each person makes it imperative for us to ensure that citizens are not treated as pawns by competing politicians vying for power. They must be seen to be key players in the political governance through their free exercise of their right to vote."He said, it was for these reasons that Episcopal Conference across Africa has been following keenly development across the continent. The Archbishop of Accra and Treasurer of SECAM, Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, used the occasion to appeal to experts in good governance to assist institutions such as the Catholic Universities in Africa to establish faculties of political science and set up centres for understanding and implementation of Catholic social teaching. "We have to promote multidimensional programmes of civic education; implement programme to foster the formation of a just social conscience at levels of society; encourage competent and honest citizens to participate in party politics." He emphasized the church must also increase engagement in promoting civic education so the faithful can live out their civic responsibility in an informed manner.He was hopeful that the workshop would provide launching pad for the Church in Africa to find some more answers to those vexing questions that militate against peaceful democratic elections on the African continent.