The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has laid out six conditions that must be met before the party agrees to a peace pact ahead of the 2024 elections.
The National Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, detailed these conditions at a meeting with the National Peace Council’s Committee for the Code of Conduct on Vigilantism and Election-Related Violence in Accra on Tuesday (August 20, 2024).
He stated that the party would not commit to any peace engagement unless the conditions were met.
The conditions include the government's full implementation of the recommendations of the Ayawaso West Wuogon election commission of inquiry, the prosecution of those responsible for the killings of eight people during the 2020 elections, and the prosecution of individuals involved in the illegal printing of approximately one million extra ballot papers during the 2020 elections.
Other conditions include President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo publicly declaring on a state platform that he will respect the outcome of the 2024 elections, full disclosure on the missing equipment from the Electoral Commission, and a requirement for the President, the Inspector-General of Police, the Chief Justice, the National Security Coordinator, and the Attorney General to all sign the pact.
Mr. Nketia stressed that the NDC was not ready to "let bygones be bygones" and stated, "We will not be part of any engagement unless you bring together all the parties."
Correct wrongs
The Director of Communications of the NDC, Kakra Essamuah, urged the Peace Council to encourage the Electoral Commission (EC) to perform its duties professionally and correct the wrongs of the previous election.
He stated that such admonishments should be made publicly to send the right signals that could lead to a change in the conduct of the EC and ensure a peaceful election. "If you want to correct someone who did wrong publicly, you have to do it publicly," he said.
The Deputy Minority Leader of Parliament, Armah Kofi Buah, asserted that peace can only follow justice and called on the Council to press institutions responsible for delivering justice to do so, ensuring that peace prevails.
"Peace comes after justice, but as it stands now, there has not been justice, and without justice, the Peace Council cannot be effective," he said.
Benefit of the doubt
The Chairman of the Committee, Maulvi Mohammed Bin Salih, urged the NDC leadership to give the committee the chance and "breathing space" to operate as it employs all strategies to ensure that all stakeholders involved in the elections commit to a peaceful outcome.
"Give us the benefit of the doubt, and the breaks you have applied, remove them a little bit," he said.
He noted that members of the committee, drawn from various institutions including the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Armed Forces, civil society, and political parties, were committed to ensuring a peaceful election but would need the cooperation of all actors to succeed.
"For us to be able to do that, we will need some amount of goodwill and trust from the members of the committee. With that goodwill and trust, we will be very much encouraged to do the best that we can," he said.
The 13-member committee, inaugurated last month, is meeting various stakeholders ahead of the election to ensure they commit to a peaceful process. The committee was established to oversee the implementation of the code of conduct that was signed in 2020 in preparation for this year’s election.
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