Mr Francis Ameyibor, a Deputy News Editor at the Ghana News Agency (GNA), has called on all journalists in the country to maintain high professional standards as the country heads to the 2016 general elections.

He said as journalists one of their core duties is to help maintain the peace and security of the nation, adding that a significant way to do that is to calm tempers of various political stakeholders.

Mr Ameyibor was speaking during a one-day media training workshop organized by the Women's Situation Room (WSR-Ghana) for journalists and media practitioners in northern Ghana.

He expressed concern that some stories being churned out by some journalists were contributing to inflaming political passions in the society.

Mr Ameyibor said there is the need for journalists to study the Constitutional Instrument (CI) 94 and acquaint themselves with the electoral terminologies that are gaining currency.

Madam Barbara Sangare, National Coordinator of WSR, said the peace of Ghana in election 2016 lies in the hands of every Ghanaian including journalists and that all must play their respective roles to ensure peace prevails in the country.

She said the Women Situation Room has chalked various successes in some African countries as far as peace creation was concerned and that it was determined to implement a number of activities to help Ghana achieve peaceful elections in December 2016.

Some of the activities, she said, include: an observer mission, a planning mission, contact group of eminent national women mediators, a group of the wise, regional coordinating hubs and a team of election observers.

Madam Barbara said the WSR deemed it fit to give young women the needed space in peace building because in times of war they were equally affected.

Participants were taken through topics such as 'Responsible Reporting' and 'Reporting with a Gender Lens'.

WSR-Ghana is a women's peace building mechanism that mobilizes women in collaboration with youth in order to ensure their active participation in peaceful and democratic electoral processes as a peace and security measure in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR 1325). GNA