2020 polls: Akufo-Addo thrives on tension but we’ll rely on people power – Mahama
President Nana Akufo-Addo thrives on tension and violence, former President John Mahama has observed.
According to him, the President’s ‘all die be die’ character has seeped into his presidency and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
However, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) says his party will not resort to violence in the 7 December 2020 polls but rather appeal to the power of the people in protecting the ballot.
“Election day security is another thing”, Mr Mahama said, adding: “It’s supposed to be the security services that maintain law and order” but “unfortunately, we have a government that not only has vigilante groups but has also embedded some of these vigilante groups in the security services”.
“That is what is likely to be the flashpoint”, he said.
“But like I’ve said, the NDC is not going to follow them down that road, we are not going to set up vigilante groups to fight them.
“We believe that the people are empowered enough to be able to protect their votes and, so, we are going to call on people’s power: that everybody, make sure nobody comes and disrupts the elections at your polling station”, he told Eric Ahianyo in an interview on Woezor TV on Thursday, 1 October 2020.
“We are not going to take guns and shoot at people and maim them and kill”, Mr Mahama stressed.
According to him, that is rather the stock-in-trade of the NPP and the President.
“I mean, it’s the NPP that has developed the trademark for doing that and it’s the character of the leader.
“I mean all his time in politics, it’s ‘all die be die’, he actually thrives on tension and all that kind of thing and it has shown in his administration as president, there’s always tension, I mean things that we’ve been used to doing as political parties for a long time, under Rawlings, under Kufuor, under Mills, under me that have gone normally without any real aggravation; I mean anything little under this particular government is so full of tension and violence and, so, we will depend on the people to protect the ballot and I believe that God is on our side and we will win the election”.
