Former President John Dramani Mahama is on collision course with the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, over the call by the Electoral Commission (EC) on the Ghana Police Service to investigate his (Mahama’s) claim that the EC secretly thumb-printed over one million ballot papers in favour of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the governing New Patriotic Party in the 2020 general elections.
While the NDC’s General Secretary has welcomed the call for police investigations, and expressed the readiness of the main opposition party to assist the Ghana Police Service in that regard, the party’s 2020 presidential candidate says that should not be the way to go about it. Instead, Mr Mahama wants the probe to be conducted by an independent body set up by the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS).
Bossman’s call
Following the former President’s consistent attempt to cast a slur on the integrity of the 2020 general results with his claim that the EC stole the election for President Akufo-Addo and the NPP, Dr Bossman Asare, Deputy Commissioner of the EC in charge of Corporate Affairs, addressed a press conference where he challenged Mr Mahama to provide evidence to back his claims.
He accordingly invited the Ghana Police Service to investigate the allegations made by the former President against the EC.
“Distinguished citizens, in the last few weeks Former President Mahama has made a number of allegations against the EC and the 2020 elections. As officials charged with the responsibility of conducting elections in Ghana, we owe it a duty to provide Ghanaians with the facts and the truth about the elections and the allegations raised. We are of the view that our silence on these false allegations could have dire consequences as it could undermine citizens’ confidence our dear country,” Dr Bossman Asare told press men.
Nketia agrees
Responding to the EC at a press conference, the General Secretary for the NDC, Johnson Aseidu Nketia, said his party had taken note, with satisfaction, of Dr Bossman Asare’s call on the Ghana Police Service to investigate the claims by Mr Mahama.
He said the claims by the former President were made “on solid grounds”, and expressed the NDC’s preparedness to assist the Ghana Police Service in carrying out the investigations.
Mahama disagrees
Former President Mahama however does not agree with the position of his party’s General Secretary, insisting that the Ghana Police Service is not the right body to carry out any such investigations.
The man who is seeking to lead the NDC again into the 2024 elections says, unlike the position of Mr Nketia, he rather thinks the best way to approach the matter is to commission an independent inquiry into the 2020 general elections. He doubts the Ghana Police Service will do any proper investigations.
“That is what I want. They said we should have an investigation. Let’s have an investigation. But I don’t know if the police are the best to do that. I don’t know what the police are going to investigate.
“We want an independent inquiry or let’s go to ECOWAS. ECOWAS has an electoral body; let them come and investigate Ghana’s election of 2020. I will welcome it; I will testify. Under oath, I will swear an oath and testify. I won’t run away from the witness box,” Mr Mahama said in an interview with Radio XYZ on yesterday.
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