Former Minister of Power, Dr. Kwabena Donkor has called out leadership of the Ghanaian society for their silence in the midst of blatant election malpractice that has led to the death of three people in the Techiman South Constituency.
Ghanaians, spiritual and traditional leaders, he said, must demand fairness and justice for the people of Techiman South for the right thing to be done.
According to him, if the National Democratic Congress (NDC), through a proper collation as set up by CI 127 loses, it will be more than happy to accept the results but warned they will not sit down for their rights to trampled upon.
Dr. Kwabena Donkor, in an interview on Monday stated that the case of Techiman South Constituency is fundamental to the sustenance of democracy in Ghana.
He disclosed that the Returning Officer of the Electoral Commission in the Constituency purportedly made a declaration of a winner of the election even without a summary sheet and without collation.
He said, “We of the NDC asked for a copy of the summary sheet and the declaration sheet. He failed to produce both sheets. We then went to the Regional Officer and he sent us back to the Returning Officer.”
“We therefore decided to petition. However, when we sent it to the Techiman EC office during working hours they had shut the office and only the police and the military were there.”
Mr. Kwabena Donkor averred that the people of Techiman South should not be denied the decision they have made because a certain Returning Officer felt he could decide who should represent them in Parliament through fraudulent declaration of result.
According to him, it is very easy for opinion leaders to tell the NDC it is okay for the sake of peace but argued peace is built on justice and fairness.
He indicated that it is for the sake of peace that the Ayawaso West Wuogon incident was magnified in the 2020 elections during which about six people have died and many more sustaining various degrees of injuries, and warned that if this impunity is allowed to prevail what would happen in 2024 could be worse.
“What is difficult about collation? All the parties have their pink sheets. It is a matter of sitting down and comparing pink sheets and then coming out with the arithmetic.”
“I understand the EC is challenged when it comes to arithmetic but at least in the presence of many we can come out with the right arithmetic and the right totals for a winner to be declared,” he stated.
He appealed to Christian and Islamic leaders, and the advisory board of the EC to, in the interest of fairness and in the interest of mother Ghana, do the right thing by calling on the Commission to do a proper collation in the Constituency.
Techiman South, he said, is an issue for the conscience of the nation and stressed though the middle and professional classes are inherently pro-NPP, they should not suppress justice and fairness for parochial partisanship.
MyPublisher.com/Osumanu Al-Hassan