John Mahama Protests to IGP

Accra, Nov. 5, GNA- Mr. John Dramani Mahama, vice presidential candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Wednesday protested against the police for preventing him from holding a rally at Dzodze in the Ketu North of the Volta Region.

He said the Volta Regional Police Command prevented him from holding a rally at Dzodze during his recent campaigned tour of part of the Volta Region although the NDC had applied in accordance with the Public Order Law of Ghana.

"My campaign team in the Volta Region sought permission and received prior approval from the Volta Regional Police Command before commencing the tour of the region. We have followed the same procedures for our tour of other regions that we have visited within the country".

A statement Mr Mahama signed and addressed to the Inspector General of Police said the police prevented him from doing so under the pretext that Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo was in the region and the holding of the rally was feared would breach the peace.

He said, "we later got to know that Mrs Rebecca Akufo Addo was actively campaigning in the Brong Ahafo Region and was not scheduled to be in the Volta Region on the day in question. Neither was she in any part of the region during the period of our tour, "Although we found the request to cancel our planned programme to be arbitrary and lacking reason, we complied with the Police directive in the interest of peace".

Mr Mahama said, "To allow such a situation would be an abuse of the democratic process. What is worse and worrying is that the information that Mrs Akufo-Addo was in the region turned out to be palpably false and was a deliberate act of misinformation".

He said, "While our spouses are involved in campaigning for our various parties, they do so principally in an auxiliary capacity and cannot under any circumstances take precedence over the candidates of any political party who have duly filed and met the requirements of the Electoral Commission".

Mr Mahama therefore urged the IGP to investigate the matter and ensure that similar situations do not recur anywhere in the country in the future.

"The Police and other security agencies have an obligation to be fair to all political parties and we will insist on this", he added. The statement copied to the media was also sent to the Volta Regional Police Command, the Electoral Commission of Ghana, EU Elections Monitoring Team, and the Carter Centre Elections Monitoring Team, 5 Nov. 08