By Edward Acquah
Accra, Aug. 21, GNA- The National Democratic Congress (NDC) says it will not sign the National Peace Council’s (NPC) peace declaration document ahead of the 2024 General Election unless six key conditions are met.
The conditions are a full-scale implementation of the report of the Ayawaso West Wuogon Commission of Enquiry; prosecution of the persons behind the murder of eight civilians in the 2020 General Election; investigations into the alleged printing of some one million “illegal” ballot papers in the 2020 General Election, and an investigation into the I.T. systems of the Electoral Commission following the pilfering of the Commission’s laptops at its warehouse.
At a meeting between the Peace Council’s Committee for Code of Conduct on Vigilantism and Election-Related Violence, and some national officers of the NDC in Accra on Tuesday, the NDC also requested that the President make an open declaration on a State platform that he would “respect the will of the people” in the December 7 presidential polls.
The NDC again demanded that the Inspector General of Police, Chief Justice, Attorney General, and the National Security Coordinator equally sign the Peace Pact and be responsible for their actions and inactions before, during, and after the elections.
The meeting, which was held at the NDC’s headquarters in Accra, was to formally introduce the members of the Peace Council’s committee to the leadership of the NDC and foster peaceful collaboration among all actors ahead of the December 7 polls.
Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, Chairman of NDC, told the Committee that the NDC would not do anything untoward to undermine the peace of the country.
“The NDC is interested in peace. This is the only country that we have. We are the last people to expect that anything will happen to blow up our democracy.
“But we cannot sign to conditions which in our honest belief will not contribute to the sustenance of that democracy. If things are happening which we feel will undermine that constitution, we cannot be part of it,” he said.
Mr Nketia said it was necessary for all key actors who had a duty to perform in the peaceful conduct of the elections to also sign the peace pact and face consequences if they failed to deliver according to their mandate.
“If all of them sign and the monitoring group commit itself to the policy of naming and shaming publicly, anybody who reneges on his obligation as far as implementation of the electoral laws of this country is concerned, we think that we will have the way forward,” he said.
Alhaji Maulvi Bin Salih, Chairman, the Committee for Code of Conduct on Vigilantism and Election-Related Violence, appealed to the NDC to “let bygone be bygone” and exercise goodwill in the Peace Council in the interest of safeguarding the peace of the country.
He assured that the Committee would meet all relevant stakeholders and work to build trust among all actors to promote peace.
“It is our collective duty to put the necessary measures in place to ensure that peace reigns,” he said.
GNA