Mrs Della Sowah, Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Welfare, has admonished Queenmothers to use their influence to educate the youth to understand the outcomes of war and violence ahead of the December 7 elections.

She said queenmothers must engage the youth in peace-building activities by enlightening them on the need to respect divergent views and appoint influential leaders among them as ambassadors to avoid behaviours that could threaten the country's peace.

Mrs Sowah made the call in Accra at the Third National Council of Women Traditional Leaders festival on the theme 'Promoting Peace and Unity in Election 2016 through Advocacy and Public Engagement: The Role of Women Leaders, the Media and the Youth'.

The event brought together Queenmmothers across the country to chart the path in discussing issues to ensure peaceful elections.

She noted that the youth formed over 50 per cent of the population which could be a powerful resource, adding that they could be incited to violent activities before, during and after the elections if their strength and capacity were not properly harnessed.

The minister said the media played an important role in determining the mode, behaviour and reaction of people before, during and after the elections, and as such must be professional in their utterances to ensure peace prior to the December 7 polls.

'The country needs peace to embark on developmental projects and it is imperative to come on board to ensure a peaceful election since the most affected group of people in times of conflict are women and children,' she added.

Dr Enyonam Canice Kudonoo, an Alternative Dispute Resolution Consultant, said the country had witnessed six successive elections without mayhem and that it behoved on all and sundry to maintain the record ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections.

She urged Ghanaians to be tolerant and respect the views of others and always use dialogue to settle their differences.

'Diversity of ideas should not lead to misunderstanding but should promote ideas of different arena for the good of society,' she stated.

She appealed to the youth not to be allowed by politicians to indulge in violence during the electioneering campaigns.

The Council pledged its unflinching support to the queenmothers in their advocacy roles as community leaders to ensure the populace conducted themselves in an atmosphere of peace and unity ahead of the elections.

GNA