John Dramani Mahama, NDC flagbearer
Associate Professor with the University of Ghana, Prof. Ransford Edward Gyampo has called on former President John Dramani Mahama to refrain from passing comments that have the potential of instigating violence.
The former President who is the flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Tuesday evening said the party will resist any attempt by the Electoral
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Flanked by some executives of the party at a brief media engagement, Mr. Mahama said, "No attempt should be made to steal this election. We'll resist it. I've looked at the results we've collated so far and I'm excited about the results. We've won in 10 regions out of 16..."
"We will resist any attempt to subvert the will of the people. Some of what is happening is unacceptable. Nana Akufo-Addo continues to show credentials that are not democratic. You cannot use the military to overturn some of the results in constituencies that we have won."
But making a submission on UTV, Prof. Gyampo said it was unfortunate for Mr. Mahama to pass such a comment. According to the lecturer, the NDC flagbearer's remark could inform some persons who are not level-headed's decision to misbehave.
He said: "Even though they are within his rights, it can prepare some people's mindset. Once we haven't heard the certified results, there is no cause for alarm unless you have enough evidence to prove the election is being rigged."
Gyampo noted that there are avenues for any candidate to seek redress hence due process must be followed instead of uttering such remarks. He reminded Mr. Mahama of his right to challenge the results in court or make his evidence known to the Ghanaian people.
"We've not seen any attempt by the EC to rig; what has happened are things that are normally associated with elections so let's wait till the results are declared," he urged.
Prior to this engagement with the media, the NDC had held three press conferences to proclaim it had won 140 parliamentary seats and was happy about the outcome of the presidential results it had gathered so far. The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) counter-attacked with two press conferences as they rubbished the claims.
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