Afenyo-Markin: NDC Must Stop The Threats & Violence Now

Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has publicly urged the National Democratic Congress (NDC) leadership particularly the president-elect, John Dramani Mahama to demonstrate a genuine  commitment against post election violence by calling on members of his party to immediately stop the continuous acts of threats and violence targeted at members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

“One is compelled to ask that if the NDC had lost the elections, what would have happened;  is it the case that the leadership of the party had prepared, rehearsed  and plotted that in the event that they  lose the elections, this country should be made lawless? And because of that even in spite of they winning, they are  still going ahead to do this?”, Afenyo-Markin  noted at a presser on Wednesday.

The Majority Leader mentioned instances where persons believed to be from the NDC had vandalized  the offices of state institutions, physically attacked or threatened key persons associated with the NPP and violently forced the Electoral Commission’s officials to illegally declare that NDC candidate had won in some constituencies whereas the figures do not support same.

He continued: “why should a Member of Parliament fear for his life  all because he participated in a democracy

“I would want to call on his Excellency  John Dramani Mahama to stop his people, to speak to his party people; this is not democracy. This is not the democracy we have all worked all hard for.

“The hypocrisy is becoming too clear day in day out. All of us are being threatened. In my own constituency for instance they have come out with a lie that a certain NDC constituency  vice chairman cannot be found; it is a lie. They are using that to incite their party  foot-soldiers to attack  NPP members including my very self.”

Afenyo-Markin noted further: “The NDC leadership pretends what their party’s foot soldiers are doing are being done on their blind side but they are the ones encouraging it. We are calling on Civil Society to call on  the NDC leadership, especially the His Excellency President-Elect, John Dramani Mahama to demonstrate his love for this country by stopping these actions immediately.

“These individuals are moved in groups; such attacks are planned and led by some MPs who are being  promised juicy positions in government and they are all over attacking Parliamentary candidates, they are looking for pink sheets  because they know that is the evidence we would use against them.”

Afenyo-Markin mentioned constituencies like Tema Central, Akwatia, Okaikwei Central, Akwatia, Nsawam Adoegyri  among others as examples of places the NDC is deliberately using violence to disrupt the process of declaring the rightful winner.

In the case of Tema Central Constituency for instance, the Electoral Officer, Ofosuhene Asante Manasseh, has in a four-page report addressed to the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) through the Greater Accra Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, pointed out that he was advised by officers of the Ghana Police Service to declare the incomplete parliamentary results for the Tema Central constituency to prevent an escalating attack by supporters of the NDC on him, his electoral officers and the police.

In his report, Mr Ofosuhene Asante Manasseh noted that the declared incomplete results suggested that the NDC parliamentary candidate for Tema Central, Ebi Bright, polled 18,539 votes while the NPP candidate, Charles Forson, polled 18,421, making Ebi Bright the winner with two outstanding polling station results.

In a related development,  the President-Elect John Mahama,  via a live broadcast Tuesday night,  has called for calm and restraint following reports of violence and lawlessness in some parts of the country.

“I urge the youth not to vent their frustrations in criminal enterprise. Instead, they must channel their anger and frustration into the positive enterprise of resetting and rebuilding our beloved nation,” Mr Mahama said.