Former president John Dramani Mahama and flag bearer of the national Democratic Congress (NDC) has promised to restore the peace and unity of Ghana if he is elected as president in the December 7 polls.
The former president said Ghana has been a peaceful and united country under different governments of the fourth republic but has lost its peace and unity under the Akufo-Addo government. He therefore assured Ghanaians of bringing back the peace and unity of the country should he win the 2020 elections.
Mr. Mahama said this after registering in the ongoing voter registration exercise on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at a registration centre in his hometown, Bole in the Savannah Region.
“President Rawlings ruled this country for eight years and handed over a peaceful and united country to President Kufuor. President Kufuor also ruled for eight years and handed over a peaceful and united country to President Mills. I took over in 2012 after the unfortunate passing of President Mills and I handed a peaceful and united country to President Akuffo Addo. So what nation is he [President Akufo-Addo] going to hand over to me when I take over from him in 2020? We will bring back the peace and unity of this country and will make everyone feel that they belong to this country and that some people do not own this country more than others,” he said.
John Mahama in an interview with the media after the registration exercise also accused President Akufo-Addo of deploying the military to registration centres in strongholds of the NDC to prevent people from taking part in the ongoing voter registration exercise. He said such acts including the closure of radio stations and harassment of journalist portrays president Akufo-Addo-led administration as a dictatorial government which is determined to retain power at all cost. He averred that the actions of the president and his government are endangering the country’s democracy.
“Sadly, the Akufo-Addo administration is endangering our democracy with dictatorship. A lot of the things that are happening, the closure of radio stations, the harassment of journalists and just during this registration exercise, the alienation of people and questioning their citizenship, the use of the military to prevent people from registering, it all shows a government that is determined to do everything to hang on to power.”
This is not the first time Mr. Mahama is making such accusation against president Akufo-Addo. He recently accused the president of using ferocious means to disenfranchise people particularly Ewes and other non-Akans in a Facebook post. In his official address to the nation on the 2020 World Press Freedom Day, Mr. Mahama accused the president of failing to protect journalist and being behind the closure of radio stations.
