Staying United Is Not The Same As Staying Unanimous - Prez Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama, on Wednesday night, set the tone for political discourse on campaigns devoid of personal and character attacks before, during and after Election 2012. Speaking to Ghanaians in his first 'Presidential Broadcast', after the sudden death of Prof. John Atta Mills, he said the best tribute the nation can give to the memory of the late president, is to ensure that the country stays united and peaceful. "The best tribute we can give to the late President Mills will be to continue the flame of peace. I urge all political actors to use the death of President Mills to refocus and conduct a clean campaign," he said. Expressing his appreciation to the entire members of the Funeral Planning Committee for a job well done and to Ghanaians for the massive outpour of love and support during the funeral ceremony of the late President, President Mahama drummed home the need to use civil language on all media platforms to continue to keep Ghana�s democratic credentials intact. "...The voices that try to sway us away from the conversation of constructive efforts and involvements and turn us towards a pattern of petty name calling and baseless personal attacks. Our growing democracy deserves more from our standards...Our country...deserves more from us; from our politics than that. I believe Ghana,...has yet to see its greatest achievements. From all of our past successes and accomplishments,...i believe the best we Ghanaians have to offer lies ahead of us and not behind us...," he said. He admonished Ghanaians to eschew divisive politics and strive to maintain the peace and unity that enveloped the country during the last three weeks. "Over the course of the past 3weeks, much has been mentioned by me and by several others, about the impressive show of unity during this time of unimaginable tragedy. There are some of who believe that the feeling of goodwill we've towards one another will fade sooner, rather than later; and that so too will be the unity that it has produced. I don't share that belief. There's no reason why we can't continue to stand united and move forward together as one. There's no reason why our differences have to divide us, or rather turn us into adversaries, especially our political differences. When it comes to the practice of peace, we Ghanaians have also been exemplary. Whether we support Hearts of Oak or Asante Kotoko, when it�s time for the Black Stars to play we are indivisible...The reason we've been exemplary in our expression of peace and tolerance is because, we Ghanaians have always been aware that standing united is not the same as standing unanimously," the president said. President Mahama reiterated the need for Ghana�s political scene to be devoid of insults and negativity. "It is said that politics is a dirty game, I dare say that it is us politicians who make it so,� he said.