Declaration of election results by NPP will be lawless act — Koku Anyidoho
The decision of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to declare its 2016 election results amounts to lawlessness, the Deputy General Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Koku Anyidoho, has underscored.
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Mr Anyidoho warned that “the laws of the country will deal with anyone who goes ahead to declare election results, saying ‘‘nobody will be allowed to hijack the mandate of Ghanaians”.
He was reacting to a statement purported to have been made by the Campaign Manager of the NPP, Mr Peter Mac Manu, in Takoradi that the NPP would declare the results of the 2016 election.
Mr Mac Manu has since explained that the party will tabulate the results of the elections alongside the Electoral Commission’s (EC’s) tabulation.
But Mr Anyidoho said “even if he did so that would not give victory to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP”.
Mr Anyidoho told the Daily Graphic that declaration of the results of an election or a referendum was the sole prerogative of the EC and not any other body or group or persons.
He referred to Article 49 of the 1992 Constitution and said the provision was very clear and instructive when it came to declaration of the results of elections and referendum and added that “it is so surprising that a lawyer of Mr Mac Manu’s repute would say he would declare the results in contravention of the law and the Constitution”.
The deputy general secretary took a swipe at the pronouncements of the NPP leadership and described such statements as a portrayal of lawlessness within the party.
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According to Mr Anyidoho, attempts by the flag bearer of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo, and Mr Mac Manu to transpose lawlessness within their NPP into the Ghanaian society “would not happen because there is no way the security agencies would sit down and allow them to get away with that”.
“It’s pretty obvious that the NPP wants to create confusion and benefit from it. By so doing the party will assume that the international community will call for discussions and create a platform for power sharing,” Mr Anyidoho said.
He said it was obvious that the NPP did not have a credible message and had therefore turned to the bastardisation of state institutions such as the police and the EC.
The deputy general secretary urged Ghanaians to renew the mandate of President John Dramani Mahama considering the way he is building a better Ghana.