Stick to democratic principles, rule of law - NPP urges govt

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has urged the government to commit to democratic principles and the rule of law.

It said the resort to arbitrariness and selective enforcement of the law and growing political bias within state institutions raise serious concerns.

“We have all agreed that as a country, we don't want to live under authoritarian rule, but under the constitutional rule and rule of law,” the General Secretary of the party, Justin Kodua Frimpong, stated at a press conference last Wednesday.

He, therefore, urged the government to respect the Constitution and stop targeting members of the NPP.

Opposing views

He accused the NDC of growing intolerance towards opposing views as the government no longer accommodated criticism, warning that such a posture undermines democratic governance.

"Let it be on record that the NDC government led by President John Mahama has become so intolerable to the extent that it does not welcome divergent or criticism of this government," he claimed.

Mr Kodua said respect for constitutional rule and the protection of diverse opinions were essential pillars of Ghana’s democracy, urging the government to recalibrate its approach to governance.

Judiciary

The NPP general secretary went on to criticise sections of the Judiciary, accusing some judges of failing to uphold fairness.

“Some judges have turned themselves into remand judges.

The only thing that they do is to remand people who criticise this government,” he said.

He said that judges, as custodians of justice, must act independently and protect citizens’ rights.

“We don't need judges who think that their duty is only to be remanding opponents of the government,” Mr Kodua stated, urging the Judiciary to “protect that institution called justice… the protector of the vulnerable in the society.”

He said the party aimed to inform the public about what it believes is happening in the country.

“We have come to let the good people of Ghana know what the NDC is doing and let them understand that if they know the reality on the ground, they will start behaving,”.