2.6 Intra-State Conflicts Though Ghana has been described as an oasis of peace in the middle of a turbulent subregion, there exists pockets of flash points within the country that have the potential to overturn the peace we enjoy. The primary causes of the conflicts remain: electoral, chieftaincy and land. 2.6.1 Elections The country conducted its District Assembly elections between December 2010 and January 2011. Though the elections were generally peaceful, there were some infractions at a few polling stations. Electoral violence Though the district assembly elections were generally peaceful, the minor altercations that occurred in some places raised a number of issues: • The usurpation of the power of the police to maintain law and order by party functionaries and local vigilantes during elections • Inability of the police to investigate and prosecute those engaged in electoral violence to deter lawlessness and impunity in future elections. a. Presidential Transition Bill In order to forestall the year-in year-out controversies and administrative challenges during periods of transfer of political power from one democratically elected president to the other, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) under its Ghana Political Parties Programme (GPPP) initiated the preparation of a Presidential Transition Bill. In 2011, extensive stakeholder consultations continued to advocate the passage of the Bill into law to guide political transition from January 2013. b. Code of Conduct for Political Parties A Code of Conduct for Political Parties which stipulates rules of engagement, acceptable behavior and legitimate electoral process was adopted by all the major political parties to regulate their conduct in the political arena. Enforcement bodies were also inaugurated at Sixth Annual APRM Progress Report: January – December 2011 15