Machomen call for restraint from NDC, NPP supporters
Machomen for Good and Justice, an association of body
builders, has expressed worry about the violent clashes between supporters of
the National 
Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP)
following the declaration of the 2012 election results and urged the leadership
of the parties to call their supporters to order.
Advertisement
According to the leadership of the association such acts had the potential to plunge the country into chaos and the earlier a stop was put to them, the better it would be for the peace and tranquility Ghanaians were enjoying.
Adding their voice to calls for the leadership of the NDC and the NPP to restrain their followers from further clashes at a news conference in Accra on Friday the President of the association, Mr Nana Kwabena Boakye, said the group prior to the just-ended general elections made a concerted effort to embark on a campaign to discourage the youth against engaging in electoral malpractices.
He said Machomen over the years had been erroneously associated with violence for which reason the members formed the association to help reform the youth who expended their time and energy on unproductive ventures.
“Politicians have in the past misled the youth into committing atrocities across the country during elections only for them to be abandoned after the elections,” he stated.
He observed that many machomen had either been killed or maimed for yielding to the agenda of selfish politicians.
To reduce the current political temperature Nana Boakye advised supporters of the two main parties to temporarily desist from wearing party ‘T’ shirts and called on security personnel to help enforce it.
He further urged media organisations especially radio and television stations to suspend political discussion programmes which he described served as a platform for political activists to engage in insults which was not good for the “charged political temperature”.
Other Trending Stories
The independent presidential candidate who was present at the news conference added his voice to calls for the two leading parties to restrain their supporters and called for cool-heads to prevail.
The Greater Accra Regional representative of the association, Nana Kofi Adusei, called on the presidential candidates of the political parties that contested the elections especially President John Mahama and Nana Akufo-Addo to publicly reaffirm their commitment to the Kumasi peace accord as a way of further demonstrating their commitment to keep the peace after the election.
The association prior to the polls at a forum organised by the Graphic Communications Group Limited where they shared their experiences said the days when machomen were used as instruments for violence during elections were over.
The forum which was attended by the independent presidential candidate, Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah and representatives of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and the Independent People’s Party (IPP) had regional representatives of the association pledging their commitment to uphold the peace before, during and after the 2012 elections.
Political parties during elections have been raising issues with over the role of machomen in elections and the NDC and NPP have particularly been pointing accusing figurers at each other for engaging muscled men to steal ballot boxes or intimidate opposing supporters.
Story by Sebastian Syme