body-container-line-1

NPP Plan Violence, Intimidation To Rig 2020 Elections – NDC

NDC NPP Plan Violence, Intimidation To Rig 2020 Elections – NDC
SEP 3, 2020 LISTEN

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) of instituting systems to rig the upcoming 2020 elections.

The General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia made this claim while addressing the press at the party’s headquarters on Thursday, September 3, 2020.

Mr. Nketia said the NPP plans to use “violence” and “other undemocratic intimidation tactics” to rig the elections.

He indicated that the NPP’s “grand scheme” is contained in an alleged leaked tape of a Deputy Regional Minister for Bono East, Martin Oti Gyarko instructing some members of the NPP’s invincible forces to cause mayhem in the just-ended voters’ registration exercise.

“In this leaked audiotape, the Deputy Regional Minister Hon. Oti Gyaaka popularly known as “Homeboy” was caught giving explicit instructions to the NPP Vigilante team to among other things, maim and commit murder where necessary with the promise of state protection and reward instead of prosecution.”

“Again on the leaked tape, the minister claimed that the media and all the state institution such as EC, the Judiciary and security agencies are fully behind the NPP in prosecuting this diabolic agenda and that it has been agreed that immediately any crime is committed by them, the NPP will rush to the press feigning to be victims and accuse the NDC of all such crimes,” he said.

Mr. Nketia called on the international community to clamp down on plans by the NPP to cause violence during the 2020 elections.

“Let me use this opportunity to invite the International Community to impress upon Nana Akufo-Addo's Government and the relevant state institutions mentioned in the leaked tape to take immediate steps to abandon any grand agenda of collusion with the NPP to perpetrate violence, intimidation and injustice on the people of this country.”

This is not the first time the party has expressed concerns over the possibility of the upcoming polls being rigged by the governing NPP by the Electoral Commission.

The party has on several occasions raised concerns over the neutrality of the leadership of the EC ahead of the 2020 polls.

Coming on the back of tensions between the NDC and the EC, former President John Mahama had earlier said: “We have our doubts that they can be neutral and fair… the current posture and the way they are conducting things makes us doubt that they will be neutral and fair in 2020.”

But speaking during a tour, the EC chairperson insisted that because of the checks and systems at the commission “it is practically impossible to interfere with the process for the purpose of securing the desired outcome.”

— citinewsroom

body-container-line