Ghana has a problem if Otumfuo’s election claims are true – Asa Asante

Political scientist, Dr. Asa Asante, says despite the denial from the camp of former President, John Mahama, he has no reason to doubt the claims by the Asantehene over his role in the aftermath of the 2016 elections.

Former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, has denied claims by the Asantehene that he persuaded Mr. Mahama to accept defeat after he lost to now President Akufo-Addo in December 2016.

“I state without equivocation that the decision to concede and congratulate Nana Akufo-Addo even before the official results were declared was taken by President Mahama himself without any persuasion from any quarter. On the day President Mahama willingly conceded defeat, he met with then Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah- Arthur, NDC Chairman Kofi Portuphy, General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, together with some high ranking members of the party and informed them of his decision to call and congratulate Nana Akufo-Addo,” the statement said.

Speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Monday, the Legon lecturer said the revelation by the monarch is dangerous for Ghana’s democracy if they are true.

“If what the Asantehene said is the truth then I can say there’s a problem with our democracy. I don’t have any evidence to doubt what the Otumfuo has said but if that’s the case we have a problem. Democracy requires that for every free and fair elections people must willingly accept defeat when it happens,” he said.

The Asantehene had claimed in an address abroad that his palace had to convince the former President to handover power after the polls that saw him losing with over one million votes to now President Akufo-Addo.

“At the conclusion of the last presidential and parliamentary elections, the country [Ghana] stood on the edge of disaster. The UN representatives and the diplomatic community were aghast, alarmed that Ghana was going to slip down the slope of electoral violence.

“Fortunately, the moral authority of the palace was at hand. We were able to intervene to persuade the losing candidate to accept his fate and fly both candidates for a quiet encounter to pave the way for a handover,” said the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II claimed.