We'll settle matters at polling centers henceforth' - Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo

The Chairman of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said “this is the last time that we are going to court” to settle an election dispute, “We’ll settle matters of the election at the polling stations and the collation centers”.

The party challenged the results of the 2020 presidential poll at the Supreme Court of Ghana but President Nana Akufo-Addo's victory was upheld.

At a press conference on Thursday, 20 May 2021, Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo said: “We, NDC, are taking [the] 2024 [elections] very seriously and we’ll not leave any stone unturned in ensuring that a level-playing field is provided to ensure that we have free [and] fair elections which outcome would be accepted by everybody”.

The press conference, which tackled the EC and its Chairperson, Mrs. Jean Mensa’s claim that they organized a well-conducted 2020 election, accused her of unjustifiably using state security to intimidate opposing voices.

“I’ve participated in elections since 1992 to 2020. It is only in the 2020 elections that military people invaded collation centers," Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo said.

Again, he said, “it is only in the 2020 elections that you have military people – whether they are military or vigilantes, nobody can say but today”.

“I’m beginning to believe that they are not regular military people because even DCOP Opare-Addo has stated that the people that he was dealing with were vigilante groups”.

Meanwhile, he noted, “the national security says they are national security people”.

In Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo’s view, “national security people have no business in our elections”.

“It is the police which has the responsibility”, he noted.

“But whom do you blame?” he asked, indicating: “The EC [Chair] herself has militarized the EC headquarters”.

“Today, it is like a war zone. Now when you are going for IPAC meetings, military people fully armed with AK-47s are all over the place”, he observed.

“You turn round to say that the security of the election is not in your hands, meanwhile, you have militarized your own office”, Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo complained.