Democracy under Attack demo: 'Mobilize lawyers, not protesters' - Dr. Belley tells NPP

Political scientist and governance expert Dr Harrison Kofi Belley has urged the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to pursue legal remedies rather than organise street demonstrations over issues arising from ongoing court cases involving some of its members.

Speaking in an interview on Ho-based Stone City 90.7 FM, Dr Belley described the party's nationwide "Democracy Under Attack" protest as unclear in its objectives and an unnecessary use of public time and resources.

The demonstration was organised by the NPP following the Court of Appeal's acquittal and discharge of former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer, Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, the imprisonment of the party's Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi), and the ongoing prosecution of some former government appointees.

Dr Belley acknowledged that the NPP had every constitutional right to demonstrate but questioned the justification for the protest.

According to him, Chairman Wontumi was accorded due process before his conviction, having been represented by lawyers throughout the trial.

"This demonstration came up as a result of the incarceration of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP. Was he given a fair trial before the incarceration? Yes, he was taken to court, he had his lawyers representing him up to the final judgment," he said.

The Volta Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) argued that describing the situation as an attack on democracy was difficult to justify when the judicial process had been followed.

"That claim is very ambiguous. Because the government is seeking accountability and transparency. If he had not been taken through due process, then we could say his rights are under attack," he stated.

Dr Belley maintained that Ghana's democratic system remains functional because citizens continue to exercise their voting rights while the judiciary operates independently through established legal procedures.

"So the rule of law is operating. That is why the Ashanti Regional Chairman was taken through the trial process. If not, he would have been detained without trial, that would have been an attack," he added.

He advised the NPP to take advantage of the country's judicial system by pursuing the appeals process if it disagrees with any court ruling.

"If judgment is given and you are not satisfied with it, you go to the next level. So why this demonstration? What do we seek to achieve from it?" he asked.

Dr Belley further argued that the very fact the demonstration was allowed to proceed undermined claims that democracy was under threat.

"If democracy were truly under attack, then this demonstration would have been prevented. But you are being given the opportunity under the rule of law to appeal, and you are also being given the opportunity to exercise your right to demonstrate," he said.

He cited the case of Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, who successfully appealed her conviction and was acquitted by the Court of Appeal, as evidence that Ghana's judicial system provides avenues for redress.

The governance expert described the protest as unnecessary and a drain on national resources.

"Was it not the same party some years ago telling everybody 'go to court'? Now you are going to court, getting judgments, and when you are not satisfied you say the system is under attack. I don't think the demonstration is necessary. It's just a waste of public funds," he remarked.

Dr Belley also called on both the government and the Supreme Court to receive petitions presented by demonstrators, stressing that accepting petitions is an important aspect of democratic governance.

"Within democratic realms, if someone presents a petition to you, you don't reject it. You receive it. How you act on it is up to you," he explained.

He concluded by urging Ghanaians to remain committed to the principles enshrined in the 1992 Constitution, saying the country's democracy should not be overshadowed by the circumstances surrounding a single individual.

"So let's abide by the provisions of the Constitution. Is it just because of one person that we should call for this kind of unnecessary attention? This demonstration, in my view, will not yield anything good for the country. It's just a waste of people's time," he said.

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