New Patriotic Party (NPP) has reacted to the comment made by NDC's national chairman, describing it as "unfortunate."
This follows Johnson Asiedu Nketia's comment that the NDC will not participate in any peace accords prior to the 2024 elections.
He emphasized that history has demonstrated that these kinds of proclamations are powerless to stop violence.
He criticized the custom of signing peace accords only after hostilities had gotten out of hand, calling on the government to speak up and intervene before disagreements or acts of violence arise.
In an interview with Joy News, Mr Nketia said, “The declaration doesn’t mean anything to us, it doesn’t because all previous declarations have not been adhered to, no declaration has solved any problem. If you allow violence to brew, you’ll have violence whether you sign a declaration or not.
“That’s why, more than a year ago, I started talking about the need for us to remove the building blocks for a violent election.”
“At any stage when something is happening, I call on those who in future, will call us to sign a declaration to speak up so that we stop this particular thing from happening.
“Otherwise, if you let those things build up and then say, ‘Let’s play a peace football match, sign a declaration, and hope for a peaceful election,’ peaceful election wouldn’t happen.”
The ruling party in a release dated August 16 "condemn it in no uncertain terms, given the worrying and incendiary nature of the statement."
The statement signed by NPP's General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong appealed to the opposition "NDC to reconsider their posture by reason of the national interest and desist from making statements likely to fuel tensions in the political atmosphere with far-reaching implications for the peace and security of our dear country"
"We wish to reiterate our firm assurance to Ghanaians that the NPP remains solemnly committed, in words and in deeds, to maintaining the peace and stability of this country before, during and after the 2024 elections and will accept the outcome in good faith.
Since 2008, the NPP has always committed to signing the Peace Accord, either in goverment or opposition or during instances when the party had genuine concerns about the sanctity of our electoral outcomes and processes."
