NPP DAMNS MILLS

Peeved! Greater Accra NPP Communication Team from L to R: Francis Ebo Mensah, Michael Ampong, Saaka Salia and Nii Ayitey Conica at the news conference.

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday August 23, 2011.
The Greater Accra New Patriotic Party (NPP) says the statement by President John Evans Atta Mills that he is going to hand over peacefully in 2017 is an indication that he has predetermined the 2012 general election results.

“Do you remember his ‘I have won the contest already’ statement when the ruling NDC was preparing for the Sunyani Congress? Look at what happened there…they used manipulations, vote buying and intimidation to get the verdict for him and he wants to do the same thing in 2012 but we will resist it this time around with all out might.”

Reacting to the President’s comment at a news conference in Accra yesterday, Micheal Ampong of the Greater Accra NPP Communication Directorate said the opposition parties particularly the NPP would never allow President Mills and his NDC to intimidate them and go ahead to rig the 2012 contest.


He said the President’s statement smacks of lawlessness since it was an attempt to disregard constitutional provisions and laws regarding the conduct of election saying “it is illegal to talk about 2017 when the President’s mandate is up to 2012.”

“On the platform where the President made the comment, he was very concerned about the maintenance of law and order in the country yet he ended up making statement that has the tendency to unleash lawlessness and indiscipline on the political landscape.”

Mr. Ampong accused the NDC of reneging on their campaign promises and also worsening the economic conditions of the people saying “if the President and his government do not have any hidden agenda how can he say he will hand over in 2017 when he has not even crossed the 2012 hurdle which I am very certain the NDC cannot cross with this performance.”

He said the only clear policies that the NDC government has been able to articulate are the perennial gas shortages and the surge in homosexuality in the country adding “there is unprecedented systemic and institutional failures all over and it is evident in the way the NDC has handled the District Assemblies Elections, National Identification exercise and recent by-election since they came into office.”

Mr. Ampong further said “we found the President’s statement misguided non committal and above all pregnant with varying degree of interpretations,” adding “by critically analyzing this statement we arrived at one conclusive verdict that the statement was unfortunate, ill conceived, affront to the constitution, and open disrespect for the electorate of Ghana and the political parties which has the potential of causing rage.”

“We call on the international community and our development partners, including ECOWAS, AU, EU, UN as well as Civil Society Organization, Religious Leaders and all well meaning Ghanaians to prevail on President Mills and the NDC to break or divert their strain of thought of rigging the 2012 election for us to avoid the unthinkable in 2012.”

He also urged the EC, NCCE and the Security Agencies “to continue to remain as professional and dispassionate as possible in the discharge of their duties,” and added that “for being disrespectful to the Ghanaian electorate by impugning the 2012 election as a done deal, in the phase of monumental failure, the president should retract the statement and apologize to the people of Ghana without delay”

Saaka Salia, another member of the regional communication team said anytime a government functionary makes public statement and was asked to substantiate, that same person comes back to say it was a joke saying “they are always playing with the intelligence of Ghanaians and I hope they don’t come back to tell us that the President’s statement is a joke.”