The NPP wishes to draw the attention of the
public to what we see to be deliberate, disturbing trend on the part of
the ruling NDC in their commentary on the election petition.
On
the 10th of December 2012, shortly after the NPP gave notice of filing a
petition to challenge the results of the presidential election, senior
Government communicator, Lawyer Kakra Essamua, said on Asempa FM, “The
NPP and its appendages should not elude themselves into thinking that
“their agents in the law courts will help them because government will
not allow them to perpetrate lawlessness in the country. If anybody with
two regions wants to be president of this country; I, from the Central
region, will support a coup.”
In recent times, as the trial of
the election petition peaks, the President, his Ministers and
communicators appear to be preparing the minds of their supporters to
rejecting any decision of the Supreme Court that may declare his
election invalid.
MAJORITY CAUCUS ON MULTITV
On Tuesday, a
day after the Justice William Atuguba court gave its final warning to
the public against utterances that could bring the judiciary into
disrepute or disturb the peace of the nation, The NDC’s posture of not
accepting the verdict of the Supreme Court was re-echoed by host of
MultiTV’s Majority Caucus, Ali Dawood.
On Tuesday 25th June, Mr
Dawood said on MultiTV, “I do not see any Supreme Court over-turning any
decision made by the EC. In other words President Mahama’s presidency
is going to be intact. If anything at all, it is going to be confirmed
by the Supreme Court and that there is never going to be a time, whether
2013 or the years to come, where we will have over-turning of verdicts
in the Supreme Court, it is not going to happen. For all of you NDC,
including NP, neutral minded persons watching me, nothing is going to
come out of the Supreme Court case. No Supreme Court is going to
over-turn any decision, take it from me.”
Before that, a leading
communicator of the NDC, Gabby Assumeng on the 21st of June 2013 on Okay
FM called for a “civil war” should the Supreme Court declare that Nana
Akufo-Addo rightfully won the 2013 elections.
He said, “I tell
you that, look this election which the NDC has won genuinely, there is
no place for Nana Addo; H.E President Mahama will make his 4 years
mandate and there is nobody, Nana Addo, on the face of the pink sheet,
to be a President, then maybe we are calling for civil war in this
country, I am telling you.”
Dr Clement Apaak and Mr Bernard
Mornah, members of a newly formed pro-NDC Government group, Coalition of
Ghanaian Voters, said at a public forum in Tamale, on the 22nd of June
2013, that the Supreme Court has no power to declare Nana Akufo-Addo,
the 1st petitioner, President. Indeed Bernard Mornah at the event told
sympathisers of the NDC, not to entertain any fears that the ongoing
election petition could be declared to favour the petitioners. The PNC
General Secretary added that what the court could do was to give
recommendations, if any, to the Electoral Commission to implement, “but
the court cannot reverse the decision of the EC and declare anybody the
winner of the 2012 elections.”
On the 25th of June, a day after
Justice Atugubah’s directives asking all to refrain from contemptuous
comments, a defeated parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic
Congress in the Binduri constituency, Stephen Atubigah, went on Asempa
FM’s Ekosi Sen programme threatening that the NDC would not obey the
Supreme Court if the ruling went against them and that they were
preparing for civil war if the Supreme Court dared overturn the disputed
declaration of December 9th, 2012 in favour of the Petitioners.
He
said, “If the NPP wins the court case; it will be a bitter-sweet
victory because Ghana cannot contain all of us. The foot-soldiers of the
NDC are prepared to protect the presidency to the peril of their lives.
We will not allow President John Mahama to hand over power even if the
Supreme Court rules in favour of the petitioners. We are prepared to
meet the NPP boot for boot. We are ever ready; we will not hand over. It
will be absurd for anyone to think that after official declaration of
results and swearing-in of President Mahama, the court can overturn the
verdict of the EC."
When he was asked by the host of the
programme to retract these statements, he refused and stated that he had
the authority of President Mahama to make these statements.
Stephen
Atubigah subsequently granted an interview to Kumasi-based radio
station, Boss FM, on the 26th of June 2013 and said, “The NDC will never
vacate the presidency, should the Supreme Court declare Nana Addo and
NPP victors of the case. We are not and will not in the future get out
of government; whatever the Court will say will not be practical, unless
such comments are in our favour. There will be mayhem in Ghana if the
Court in anyway call victory for the NPP”
We believe strongly
that these blatant inflammatory threats to the constitutional authority
of the Supreme Court are orchestrated and by minds that do not have the
interest of the nation at heart. They appear to have the implicit
support of the Government because no action whatsoever has been taken
and they feed on similar statements from the President which give the
false impression that the Supreme Court has no option but to decide in
his favour.
It appears this belligerent posture, starting from
the President down to his communicators, is to intimidate the court and
let their supporters know that there is no way they can lose the case.
It has been deliberately designed to intimidate and frighten the Court
into acquiescing in a so-called ‘status quo’. But, the only status that
matters here is the Constitution of the Republic.
THE STATUS QUO
Article
64(2) provides that the Supreme Court’s declaration will be without
prejudice to the acts of a President declared invalid by the Court. This
means the Court has the power to annul a presidential election and to
do so will be in line with the status quo. The only “status quo” that
matters is the Constitution and what can disturb it is rather the NDC’s
posture that they will not accept the verdict of the Supreme Court.
If they will not accept then we will do anything per Article 3 to defend the Constitution of the Republic.
Contrary
to the carefully crafted propaganda of a party prone to violence, Nana
Addo chose to petition the Supreme Court under Article 64. This
difficult decision not only had to boldly confront voices urging
acquiescence in the name of ‘peace’ but also justify his stance to a
cynical international community which usually brushes such fundamental
issues aside on the basis of its observer reports. Above all, Nana had
to scale the high hurdle of delivering convincing evidence to the Court
within twenty one days, a monumental task challenged by the conventional
wisdom of accepting the Electoral Commission’s version of ‘credible’
elections.
Every objective Ghanaian would concede that the very
act of sending the issue to court has been beneficial to the country.
That courageous decision did not only calm the country down but also is
poised to foster many significant changes to politics and state
institutions in Ghana. And that is why the entire nation is waiting
patiently and quietly for the Supreme Court to pronounce. Why then would
some start propaganda to pre-empt the decision of the Court with vile
threats?
MARTYRS DAY
This is not a matter to be taken
lightly. The upcoming Martyrs Day this weekend is ample testimony of
what can happen if the defenders of liberty go to sleep. About thirty
years ago, under the watch of the coup imposed Provisional National
Defence Council (PNDC), the political father of the NDC, three erudite
Justices and two others lost their lives in a brutal murder in a way
that the nation is yet to come to terms with.
At the time, a
bold statement of intent about not tolerating lawlessness was made when
Ghanaians compelled the PNDC to set up the Special Investigation Board
(SIB). After a brave job, the PNDC Government only partially implemented
the report, saddling the nation with a culture of impunity which the
NDC has escalated to unprecedented heights. What we know, and are proud
of as a nation, is that, those Justices defended our liberties with
their lives. That is why we continue to celebrate them.
At that
time, in their moment of pain, they stood alone. Now, in our moment of
national landmark decision making, we want to assure our Justices of the
Court that they will never stand alone. We will defend them to the
hilt. The NDC will not have its way.
We repeat. This time, the NDC will not have its way.
This
society is maturing in its democratic practice. It will not succumb to
bare threats of which infamous allusions to killing cats may easily be
recalled. It would be a bad mistake to take the quiet Ghanaian for
granted. Long suffering, maybe, but not meek. And indeed, with long
memories, contrary to what some politicians think.
Ghanaians
remember the regime which stripped people of their properties, destroyed
families and killed in the name of corruption eradication. Today, they
have been found out by EOCO and the Sole Commissioner to have
deliberately connived to steal millions from the State. The Supreme
Court has confirmed the stealing, labelling it as an alliance to create,
loot and share.
Rather than deal decisively with such
gargantuan and mind boggling impunity and corruption, the President
chooses to join his communication foot-soldier chorus to undermine the
Supreme Court. Having told his party faithful that he would be declared
President by the Court, he has recently added ‘God ordained’ to his
rhetoric. Moreover, he has not seen it fit to respect the Supreme Court
by putting in an appearance. Furthermore, he appears to have endorsed
and blessed the inflammatory utterances of the coup and civil war
mongers among his official communicators by refusing to condemn them or
asking that they be investigated.
But we want to assure him.
Ghanaians are not cowards. The Constitution is a living document. It
cannot be intimidated. Ghanaians will not be intimidated. The preamble
and Article 3 are emphatic about our commitment to protect and defend
hard won freedoms. Article 41 is a clear call to defend national
resources. Our intelligence reports have been confirmed by the latest
posture of the NDC. It is as, in the view of the NDC, “if we can’t fight
the evidence let us fight the judiciary.”
We want to assure the
nine Justices sitting on the election petition panel that the people of
Ghana are with them and urge them to do what is just and right.
......signed......
Nana Akomea,
Director of Communications, NPP
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