IDEG boss also foresees violence at 2024 election

….Says Military intervention is real if…..

The Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, has asserted that Ghana’s democracy is under threat, if the concerns of the pending election turning violent, are not addressed.

Speaking in an interview with JoyNews on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, Dr Akwetey, noted that the Ghana Armed Forces, has on more than two occasions threatened that if elections in the country turn violent beyond the control of the Ghana Police Service, it would intervene.

He added that these threats from the army should be taken seriously because they point to nothing but the end of civil rule and a military overthrow.

“The Armed Forces of Ghana since 2016 have clearly and openly in press conferences threatened that if violence breaks out in the country over election disputes or whatever and the police cannot deal with it and it’s escalating or threatening, they will step in. And they said if they did so, it would be to protect the territorial integrity, our peace, and our national unity.

“That would be a coup because the police cannot deal with nationwide violence. They are not equipped for that. It’s not about parliamentary elections, it’s about presidential elections because the president is elected throughout the country. And they have said that a second time in 2020 and probably even the third time they’ve even started talking about it so early,” he said.

The IDEG boss added, “Read the papers, and you will see the threat is real in a sub-region where there is a drift towards the military or the return of military governments. And ECOWAS is facing some challenges in dealing with these issues.”

Dr Akwetey, has also praised the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, for the demands the party is making before it signs the peace accord for the pending 2024 polls.

He said that the position taken by the NDC shows leadership and is important because most of the issues they have raised are concerns Civil Society Organisations have been complaining about for years.

Dr Akwetey, indicated that the demands of the NDC would help address these concerns, which include election violence, the activities of vigilante groups, and the disregard for the power of the police during elections.

“When these two parties (the NDC and the New Patriotic Party) are in government, would they give the police or empower the police or give them the space to do their work? What we heard from the police the last time we convened to look at why the police is not tackling violence and so on; the police complained and said, ‘Well, first of all, when we’ve done the investigations, we do not have autonomy to prosecute our cases.

“We have to submit cases, dockets to the Attorney General. And when the Attorney General does not act on this docket expeditiously or ever, we cannot act.’ So, for the police to be able to act on its own, arrest people, prosecute them, does not exist in the system. And that is one of the things we have to tackle now.

“And not only that, you can go on and see how foot soldiers now become armed vigilantes where private people own them, but parties endorse them and close their eyes over them,” he said.

He added, “So, for me, what is good about (the NDC’s demands), I think it’s leadership and courage on the part of Mr. Asiedu Nketiah to raise these issues, because we’ve been raising them, but now a very major party has raised it, and it’s putting so much pressure for it to be resolved that he said, ‘if we don’t tackle this we won’t sign the peace pact’.”

The Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has made it clear that the party will not commit to any peace pact ahead of the 2024 general elections unless specific conditions are met.

This stance was reiterated during a meeting with the National Peace Council on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.

During the meeting, the National Peace Council urged political parties to eliminate animosity and work towards a peaceful election.

However, Asiedu Nketiah outlined the NDC’s concerns, expressing doubts about the effectiveness of past peace pacts, particularly the one signed during the 2020 elections.

He pointed out that despite previous agreements, eight NDC members were allegedly killed by national security operatives during the last election without any accountability.

To address these concerns, the NDC has put forward six conditions that must be met before the party will consider signing the proposed peace pact. These conditions include:

1. Implementation of Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election recommendations:

The NDC demands that the recommendations from the investigation into the violence during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election be fully implemented.

2. Prosecution of election-related violence perpetrators:

The party is calling for the prosecution of those responsible for the violence during the 2020 elections, stressing the need for justice and prevention of future incidents.

3. Accountability for ballot paper irregularities:

The NDC insists on accountability regarding the irregularities in the printing of ballot papers, with visible measures to prevent such issues from recurring.

4. Investigation into missing Electoral Commission IT equipment:

The party is demanding a thorough investigation into the missing IT equipment from the Electoral Commission’s warehouse, raising concerns about the integrity of the EC’s systems.

5. Public commitment by the president:

Asiedu Nketiah emphasized the need for President Akufo-Addo to publicly declare his commitment to respecting the outcome of the 2024 elections.

6. Signature of key national figures:

Finally, the NDC insists that the peace pact should be signed by key figures, including the President, the Inspector-General of Police, the Chief Justice, the National Security Coordinator, and the Attorney General before the NDC will consider adding its signature.

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