NPP demanded that we issue a joint statement with them saying Oquaye withdrew – Asiedu Nketia

The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu Nketia has claimed that the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) pleaded with the main opposition party to issue a joint statement with them indicating that former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, withdrew from the elections to elect a new speaker for the 8th Parliament.

He said at a press conference in Accra on Friday, January 8 that the NDC rejected this proposal because they wanted the whole world to know that the former Dome Kwabenya lawmaker contested in the elections and lost.

During the election in the chamber on Thursday, January 7, Mr Alban Bagbin who was nominated by the NDC polled 138 votes as against 136 for Professor Oquaye.

Mr Asiedu told the press that “The NPP’s demand for a rerun of the elections and the counter demand for the declaration of Honourable Bagbin as the winner led to another two hours of stalemate before eventually, evil had to succumb to the forces of democracy.

“In fact, at some points in time, the NPP was demanding that before Bagbin could be declared the winner we should accept a joint statement indicating that Professor Mike Oquaye withdrew from the contest and there were no elections at all.

Can you imagine this? Everybody in the world saw the election happening, saw the ballot papers being stolen and you want us to come and embarrass ourselves or rather to share in your embarrassment with a common statement that the elections didn’t take place, that Mike Oqauye was never defeated, that he withdrew n eventually to allow Bagbin to go.

“Some of us insisted that Mike Oquaye has lost the elections and let the whole world know that he has lost the elections because he was warned.

“In fact, I did warn him that he was too old to be a Speaker and I advised him that this was the time for him to dedicate the rest of his life telling ananse stories to his grandchildren.”