‘NDC won't sign 2024 election peace pact’ — Asiedu Nketiah

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) will not sign any pre-election peace declaration ahead of the 2024 polls, says the party's National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah.

According to Mr Asiedu Nketiah, also known as General Mosquito, signing a peace pact alone does not guarantee an incident-free election, adding that previous agreements in the run-up to past elections have not prevented violence.

Speaking on Accra-based Joy News' PM Express programme on Wednesday, August 14, the NDC chairman stressed that tangible steps must instead be taken early to address the root causes that fuel electoral tensions and unrest.

"Signing a peace declaration doesn't mean anything to the party, as previous pacts have not yielded any real results," Mr Asiedu Nketiah stated.

He continued: "If you allow violence to brew, it will happen whether you sign a declaration or not. That's why, more than a year ago, I started talking about the need to remove the building blocks for a violent election."

The opposition member further called on stakeholders to act promptly to deal with issues that could escalate as the election draws nearer.

"At any stage when something is happening, I call on those who, in the future, will call us to sign a declaration to speak up and stop it from happening," Mr Asiedu Nketiah said.

"Otherwise, if you let these issues build up and then say, 'Let's play a peace football match, sign a declaration, and hope for a peaceful election,' it won't work. We did all this and more in 2020,” he insisted.