Election 2020: Assembly members urge NDC to seek redress in court

The Greater Accra Association of Assembly Members has called on the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to seek redress in the court for any electoral concerns in the just-ended presidential and parliamentary elections.

The Association said it was worried about the persistent protests amid burning of vehicle tyres in the streets across the country without approval from the Police, and described the incidents as creating fear and panic.

Mr Alfred Adjei, General Secretary of the Association, at a press conference in Accra to express the displeasure of the Association about the issues, called on the Police Service to arrest perpetrators of such acts, which “threatened the peace and security of the nation.”

He said the Chapter Five of the 1992 Constitution, article 12 stated that “the fundamental human rights and freedom enshrined in the chapter shall be respected and upheld by the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary and all other organs of government, where applicable to them, by all-natural and legal persons in Ghana, and shall be enforceable by the Courts as provided.”

“The behaviour of the leadership of the NDC in inciting their followers against the EC and section of the media for conniving with NPP to rig the 2020 election polls is unfortunate because there is no material or evidential value to authenticate their claims,” Mr Adjei said.

He said Mr John Dramani Mahama, the Presidential Candidate for the NDC after the 2012 elections, advised Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the then Presidential Candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to go to court for any suspicion of a rigged election.

“Our Association is also encouraging the leadership of the NDC to chart a course already blazed by the NPP in 2012 by going to court to challenge the election results as law-abiding citizens,” Mr Adjei said.

The Association commended the Electoral Commission for a “successful voter registration and a peaceful incident-free, transparent and fair elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Mr Adjei said the general election was acclaimed by the observer community, locally and internationally, as the freest and fair of all elections since the commencement of the fourth Republican democratic dispensation.

He said Ghana’s democracy had gained positive image internationally due to the adherence of rule of law as a guiding philosophy needed to ensure the consolidation of peace as an indispensable value to facilitate development.

Mr Adjei said the passage of Constitutional Instruments designed to improve the electoral processes through the EC had strengthened the credibility of electioneering processes of the country and that parties aggrieved should seek redress at the law courts.

Mr Moses Abor, the President of the Association urged aggrieved parties in the elections to conduct their activities civilly and peacefully devoid of any untoward incidents.

“We believed that there are appropriate channels for any aggrieved political parties to seek redress for any electoral issues and we will ensure that the right thing is done according to the dictate of the law”, he said.

The NDC has rejected the presidential results declared by the Electoral Commission and embarked on series of street protests across the country, some, turning violent.