Maybe another NDC flagbearer will head to Supreme Court, I won’t - Mahama on elections

Former President John Dramani Mahama has ruled out ever resorting to the court of law for the determination of the outcome of any presidential elections he will contest in.

He, therefore, charged his party’s supporters to ensure that the results are determined at the polling stations and collation centres.

“NDC must man the polling station, they must man the collation centres, make sure the pink sheets are correct, make sure we get the right results and everything because maybe someone else will be flagbearer. They will choose Supreme Court but if I become flagbearer I am not going to the Supreme Court,” he stressed.

The three-time presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was speaking in the wake of comments he made at the start of the second phase of his Thank You tour, sparking controversy as he claims the 2024 elections will be a ‘do-or-die' affair.

In an interview with Techiman-based Akina FM on Tuesday, September 7, the former President said events leading to the declaration of the 2020 elections results for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the subsequent dismissal of his petition by the Supreme Court in March meant that elections can only be won at the polling stations.

“This current president has made elections life and death for him, he uses his Delta Forces and Invisible Forces enrolled in the security agencies.

“You see some military and police officers and ask whether these are indeed officers. They wear earrings and all sorts of things and you can’t tell whether this is a police officer or a soldier. We know they have infiltrated the security with some of their people.

“Look at what happened at Techiman South, the ways they shot at the crowd, it was intended to kill people. We hope that the next elections we won’t see scenes like that again.

“We have learnt our lessons from happenings during the 2020 polls. The 2024 elections will be won or lost at the polling station. It will be do-or-die at the polling stations. The right thing must be done during the polls.

“We will win the elections at the polling station and won’t wait for collation centre results nor petition the Supreme Court if aggrieved.”

On Wednesday, Mr Mahama, a former lawmaker, justified the comment, saying it is an English idiomatic expression that does not connote the meaning his critics are spinning on it.

“Those who dropped out of school do not understand idiomatic expressions. ‘Do or die’ means a critical assignment you have and you must do the needful or perish. And so you must do the needful,” he stated in English, changing tongue to Twi by saying: “I meant NDC must not wait to go to the Supreme Court again. What we must do at the polling station and collation centre must be done!”