Conscience of Mahama clean towards election 2020- NDC replies President

The conscience of former President John Dramani Mahama towards the 2020 elections is clean, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has stated.

It said the former President, who is the flag bearer of the NDC in the December presidential election, did not intend to instigate any acts of violence as being portrayed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

A statement issued by the NDC yesterday and signed by the party’s Director of Communications, Mr Kakra Essamuah, therefore, asked President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to do same and to ensure that he left office next year January 7th with this country intact and at peace with itself.

The statement, which was in reaction to what the NDC described as President Akufo-Addo’s attacks on former President Mahama, said the NDC had seen a video in which President Akufo-Addo purported to respond to the admonition by former President Mahama to the Electoral Commission (EC) to desist from actions that could plunge this country into chaos, especially the move to compile a new voters register.

“In the said video, President Akufo-Addo also purported to lecture the NDC, and to assure Ghanaians of a peaceful outcome in the impending 2020 elections. “We in the NDC are certain that the generality of our people will view that video and the words contained in them with both amusement and a sense of irony.

“This would be due to their knowledge of President Akufo-Addo's less than inspiring record in the area of peaceful electoral conduct,” the statement said.

Endangering peace and security

Taking a strong view of the President’s assurance of a peaceful 2020 polls, the NDC stated that it was rather President Akufo-Addo who had done more to endanger the peace and security of the country than any political leader.

It said dating back to the 2008 elections, President Akufo-Addo had, through his actions, demonstrated that he was not a man of peace.

“The good people of Ghana would also know that he attempted to stop the declaration of the results of that election through a court application that, if granted, would have thrown the entire country into chaos,” it said.

All-die-be-die

The statement said the actions of President Akufo-Addo created so much tension and fear within the populace that at a point, the central business district of Accra had to be abandoned by traders and the general public, for fear of violence. “On that occasion, it took the maturity and magnanimity of President J. A. Kufuor and the famed tolerance and peaceful demeanour of President J. E. A. Mills to calm the storm.”

Post 2012 elections

Taking a look at the 2012 elections which Nana Akufo-Addo lost, the NDC statement said , again, he refused to accept defeat “and staged a most bewildering charade.”

On that occasion, it said, Nana Akufo-Addo sought to cast a sordid picture of the country’s politics and governance by initiating a petition which was dismissed by the Supreme Court.

The NDC indicated that President Akufo-Addo was the only opposition leader who refused to accept defeat in good time, when all was clear that he had lost the elections.

“ All the eminent opposition leaders before him under the Fourth Republic passed this test with distinction,” it explained.

Doubts

The NDC, therefore, raised doubts about the sincerity of President Akufo-Addo’s assurance of a peaceful elections this year.

To the largest opposition party, the President’s assurances “ring hollow and is devoid of any moral value” in view of his past activities.

New register

The statement said the NDC and some other political parties, as well as dozens of civil society organisations (CSOs), had all voiced legitimate concerns about the validity of the EC’s decision to compile a new voters register at a time when the EC had not proven that the current register had any problems.

“It is a well-known fact that President Akufo -Addo led a botched effort in the run up to the 2016 elections to undermine the credibility of the voters register. He made unfounded claims about bloating which he was never able to prove. In both the court of public opinion and the law courts, his claims were soundly defeated,” the statement noted.

It said the fact that the former President called on Ghanaians to allow the EC to do its work based on certain developments when he was in office did not preclude him from cautioning against a conduct that could lead to potential trouble.

“In any event, why has President Akufo-Addo so suddenly come to believe in the work of the Electoral Commission such that he now does not want to countenance criticism of their work?’’ The statement queried.