General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Kodua Frimpong, has questioned the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) inability to maintain a principled stance to the peace of the country.
The NPP says the opposition’s continuous representations at the various peace agencies such as the National Peace Council amongst others amid its unwillingness to commit to the peace of the nation leaves much to be desired.
The comment comes on the back of the NDC’s decision not to sign on to any peace pact ahead of the December elections.
The stance, is what the NPP in a Friday, August 16, 2024 statement signed by its General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, says possesses the potency to fuel tensions and cause problems in the upcoming elections.
It has therefore called on the National Peace Council, Civil Society Organisations and the religious bodies to call the opposition to order.
“While we reiterate our commitment to signing the 2024 Election Peace Declaration with alacrity, we call on the National Peace Council, Civil Society Organisations, Religious and Traditional Authorities and indeed, all well-meaning Ghanaians to join us in condemning the statement by the NDC National Chairman and to urge the party to use appropriate channels to resolve any grievances.
“Ironically, despite the NDC’s stated stance, they continue to be represented at the Peace Council, IPAC and national Security meetings. Why are they unable to maintain a principled stance to the peace and stability of Ghana?” portions of its statement indicated.
Background
Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the National Chairman of the NDC, during a programme on JoyNews Wednesday, August 14, 2024, expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of peace declarations, maintaining his outfit is not going to be a part of such declarations this year.
This, he said, was due to the ineffectiveness of past experiences. “Signing a peace declaration doesn’t mean anything to the party, as previous pacts have not yielded any real results.”
According to him, the real deal in violence prevention is proactivity and not symbolic gestures. He said whether a declaration is signed or not, if violence is allowed to brew, it is bound to happen.
“If you allow violence to brew, it will happen whether you sign a declaration or not. That’s why, more than a year ago, I started talking about the need to remove the building blocks for a violent election,” he explained.
Mr. Asiedu Nketia urged stakeholders to address the root causes of the violence that sometimes mar the political processes rather than waiting for them to spiral out of control before focusing on peace pacts.
“At any stage when something is happening, I call on those who, in the future, will call us to sign a declaration to speak up and stop it from happening.
“Otherwise, if you let these issues build up and then say, ‘Let’s play a peace football match, sign a declaration, and hope for a peaceful election,’ it won’t work. We did all this and more in 2020,” he said.
Citing the 2020 elections for instance, the NDC National Chair stated that despite the actions taken by the National Peace Council and Council of State, the process was still marred by violence.
“Signing or not signing is not the issue. What we need to address are the building blocks that lead to violence,” he insisted.
But the NPP says the comments were in bad faith and unfortunate. Find below the full statement it issued.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 16, 2024
NPP CONDEMNS NDC’s STANCE ON PEACE DECLARATION ACCORD FOR 2024 GENERAL ELECTIONS
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has taken notice of a publication on myjoyonline.com dated August 15, 2024, captioned “We won’t sign peace declaration ahead of elections, says Asiedu Nketia,” ostensibly attributed to the National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to the publication, Mr. Asiedu Nketia made the statement during his appearance on Joy News’ current affairs programme, PM Express, on Wednesday, August 14, 2024.
The NPP takes a serious view of the statement and reacts as follows:
1. The NPP finds the comment by the NDC National Chairman very unfortunate and condemns it in no uncertain terms, given the worrying and incendiary nature of the statement.
2. We have noted with concern that the leadership of the NDC has gained notoriety for consistently beating the drums of war and preparing the minds of their supporters to reject the outcome of the 2024 general elections, foreseeing their inevitable loss.
3. The NPP wishes to make a passionate appeal to the NDC to reconsider their posture by reason of the national interest and desist from making statements likely to fuel tensions in the political atmosphere with far-reaching implications for the peace and security of our dear country.
4. We wish to reiterate our firm assurance to Ghanaians that the NPP remains solemnly committed, in words and in deeds, to maintaining the peace and stability of this country before, during, and after the 2024 elections, and will accept its outcome in good faith.
5. It is common knowledge that since the advent of the Fourth Republic, the NPP has been the political party that has consistently demonstrated unwavering commitment to maintaining the country’s peace, either before, during, and after general elections and will never deviate from this commitment.
6. Since 2008, the NPP has always committed to signing the Peace Accord, either in government or opposition or during instances when the Party had genuine concerns about the sanctity of our electoral outcomes and processes. For instance, despite challenging the outcome of the 2012 general elections results in court and having doubts about the neutrality of the Electoral Commission, the NPP, guided by the overarching national interest, still committed to the Peace Accord in 2016.
7. It is an established fact that whenever we have legitimate concerns, the NPP resorts to appropriate fora, including the courts, the Peace Council, IPAC, and other stakeholders to address our grievances and, where necessary, call for electoral reforms to improve the country’s electoral systems and processes. We call on our rank and file to uphold our principled position despite provocations from the NDC, which has always touted its revolutionary roots.
8. While we reiterate our commitment to signing the 2024 Election Peace Declaration with alacrity, we call on the National Peace Council, Civil Society Organisations, Religious and Traditional Authorities and indeed, all well-meaning Ghanaians to join us in condemning the statement by the NDC National Chairman and to urge the party to use appropriate channels to resolve any grievances.
9. Ironically, despite the NDC’s stated stance, they continue to be represented at the Peace Council, IPAC and national Security meetings. Why are they unable to maintain a principled stance to the peace and stability of Ghana?
10. Finally, we want to remind the NDC that Ghanaians are peace-loving people, and by the grace of God, Ghana will not experience any war regardless of the outcome of the 2024 general elections. The will of the Ghanaians will always prevail.
Thank you.
…Signed…
JUSTIN KODUA FRIMPONG
GENERAL SECRETARY
