[ 2016-11-25 ]

Stop NDC from harassing us - PPP, PNC, NDP to Peace Council
The Presidential nominees of the Progressive
People’s Party (PPP), People’s National
Convention (PNC) and the National Democratic Party
(NDP) are calling on the National Peace Council,
civil society organisations, CODEO and the
international community to advise the ruling
National Democratic Congress (NDC) from abusing
incumbency.

According to them, the NDC government has been
influencing State security agencies to harass and
intimidate their supporters.

The three presidential candidates stated that they
have shown resilience in the face of these
problems and have demonstrated leadership in
controlling their supporters to do their best
possible to participate in the election.

‘This election has witnessed the clearest ever
abuse of incumbency on the part of the NDC and the
use the State’s security agencies and party
thugs to intimidate other opponents. A free and
fair election environment will require an
atmosphere of fairness in the application of the
EC’s laws on political party funding. The EC has
gone to sleep and allowed the NDC to use state
funds to buy votes without questioning them. More
so, the state’s security apparatus has been used
to harass and intimidate opponents of the ruling
government.

But more importantly, we are placing on record for
the civil society, the National Peace Council, the
CODEO and the international community to take
steps to reverse these disturbing trends so that
we can have proper free and fair elections in the
future since free and fair elections for 7th
December 2016 have escaped us,’ Nana Konadu
Agyeman Rawlings, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom and Dr
Nasigre Mahama said in a joint statement.

They added that the attempt by EC to change the
results through a purported recounting is a recipe
for chaos and civil disobedience.

‘We are also aware that the EC chair has
announced the intention to recount the ballots
depending on some circumstances which are not
backed by law. We believe this is another tool to
be deployed in favour of particular candidate if
the results do not go in his favour,’ they
said.

Read below their joint statement:

STATEMENT ABOUT THE 7 DECEMBER 2017 ELECTIONS BY
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES OF THE NDP, PNC AND PPP



We the presidential candidates of the Progressive
People’s Party, the People’s National
Convention and the National Democratic Party wish
to put on public record that the 2016 Presidential
and Parliamentary elections will not be free and
fair. Free and fair elections can take place when
certain conditions are met. It is not limited to
the electorates queuing up on 7th December, 2106,
casting a ballot and for a person to be declared a
winner.

We make this point strongly believing that we have
a responsibility as leaders of these three
political parties to bring into sharp focus a
number of issues that have happened that defeat
our expectation or aspiration as a country to hold
free and fair elections. Free and fair elections
do not happen on voting days. They happen only if
a number of things are in place and are guaranteed
for the benefit of all the players.

First of all political parties and candidates must
be given a fair opportunity to campaign and send
their messages to the electorates for informed
choices to be made. The three of us have had a
terrible experience of spending close to six weeks
in court litigating against the
unnecessaryattempted disqualification of our
candidature as part of a deliberate scheme to
frustrate our efforts in this election. This has
brought us untold hardships financially,
emotionally and taken energy and precious time
from our campaigns. The ElectoralCommission (EC)
decided to utilize the regulations guiding the
conduct of the 2016 elections as an oppressive
tool to punish and deny us equal opportunity to
campaign during the critical times of the campaign
season. If a party in a competition loses six
weeks of campaigntime whilst spending on legal
fees that where not budgeted for but occasioned by
a frivolousschemedesigned to frustrate and deny us
fair opportunity to participate in the elections,
how can anyone say that this election is and will
be free and fair?

Secondly, we would expect under normal
circumstances that, the Electoral Commission will
be a fair and impartial referee whose only
interest would be to comply with the provisions of
the CI 94 which conduct will ensure certainty and
predictability in the processes leading up to the
elections. As we speak, the EC has been
inconsistent in the supply of information to the
political parties on the number of voters
registered for the special voting exercise. The
new allegation that the Ghana Police Service is
adding more names to the special list, long after
the deadline passed is disturbing to say the
least. The question is which other groups of
people have been allowed to add to the list after
the deadline?

The EC has clearly disregarded the relevant
portions of CI94 (regulation 23) to have
entertained the latest applications from the
Police Service. If the rules of the game can be
twisted and turned by the referee as and when it
pleases, can we then say that the elections will
be free and fair when we do not know what illegal
steps will be taken in the process leading up to
the elections? Some of our parliamentary
candidates have been disqualified without due
process. We are also aware that the EC chair has
announced the intention to recount the ballots
depending on some circumstances which are not
backed by law. We believe this is another tool to
be deployed in favour of particular candidate if
the results do not go in his favour. This attempt
to change the results through a purported
recounting is a recipe for chaos and civil
disobedience.

Thirdly, this election has witnessed the clearest
ever abuse of incumbency on the part of the NDC
and the use the State’s security agencies and
party thugs to intimidate other opponents. A free
and fair election environment will require an
atmosphere of fairness in the application of the
EC’s laws on political party funding. The EC has
gone to sleep and allowed the NDC to use state
funds to buy votes without questioning them. More
so, the state’s security apparatus has been used
to harass and intimidate opponents of the ruling
government.

We have shown resilience in the face of these
problems and have demonstrated leadership in
controlling our supporters to do their best
possible to participate in this process of a
semblance of an election. But more importantly, we
are placing on record for the civil society, the
National Peace Council, the CODEO and the
international community to take steps to reverse
these disturbing trends so that we can have proper
free and fair elections in the future since free
and fair elections for 7th December 2016 have
escaped us.



Edward Nasigrie Mahama

Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings


Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom

Source - PPP, PNC, NDP

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