The National Peace Council has acknowledged that the deaths of eight people during the 2020 elections tarnished Ghana’s reputation, despite the general perception of the elections as peaceful.
The Council emphasized that it is currently engaging with stakeholders to prevent such tragedies in the future, stressing that no election should ever result in the loss of life.
Joana Opare, a Board Member of the National Peace Council, made these remarks at the ongoing Public Forum on Media, Peace, and Democratic Consolidation in Ghana, held in Accra.
“One of them came especially from the stakeholder meeting by CODEO that especially highlighted, and I quote, the deaths that were recorded in the 2020 general elections had dented Ghana’s image. Excellencies, under no circumstances should elections lead to the death of any lives.
“To move beyond this collective pain, we have had a lot of consultations with all stakeholders, the political parties, their leadership, the media and so on to ensure that we are all moving in the right direction to keep Ghana as a peaceful country,” she stated.
This comes after the National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, set forth specific conditions that the party insists must be met before considering signing the Peace Pact advocated by the National Peace Council in anticipation of the December 7 elections.
Mr. Nketia expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of past Peace Pacts, highlighting that they had not achieved their intended outcomes, particularly referencing the 2020 elections, during which eight NDC members were allegedly killed by national security operatives without accountability.
During an August 20 meeting with the National Peace Council at the NDC headquarters, Mr. Nketia detailed certain conditions for the NDC’s participation in the Peace Pact.
The NDC is demanding that the recommendations from the investigation into the violence during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election be fully implemented.
They also want those responsible for election-related violence in the last election to be prosecuted, stressing the importance of justice and prevention.
The party is calling for accountability regarding irregularities in the printing of ballot papers and insists that visible measures be taken to prevent such issues from happening again.
They are also pushing for a thorough investigation into the missing IT equipment from the Electoral Commission’s (EC) warehouse, expressing concerns about the integrity of the EC’s systems and the potential bias of its staff.
Furthermore, the NDC is urging the President to publicly commit to respecting the results of the 2024 elections. Lastly, the party insists that the Peace Pact should be signed by key figures, including the Inspector General of Police, the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General, and the National Security Coordinator before they will consider signing it themselves.
