Akufo-Addo condemns post-election violence, blames NDC

President Nana Akufo-Addo has condemned the post-election violence that occurred following the 2024 general elections, holding particularly the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) responsible.

The outgoing president believes that the NDC was involved in the violence, while the Police Service failed to control the disturbances promptly.

“It is with deep concern that I acknowledge the unfortunate incident of post-election hooliganism, vandalism, and violence that followed,” he said. He added that the incident threatened to “tarnish the beauty of our democratic exercise,” describing such acts as “completely unnecessary and wholly unacceptable. They must never reoccur.”

Nana Akufo-Addo accused the NDC of being responsible for the disturbances, stating, “It is particularly regrettable that these unfortunate disturbances appeared to involve some executives and sympathizers of the victorious party, the National Democratic Congress.”

He praised the leadership of the Police Service for their role in bringing the situation under control, saying, “I also commend the security services, especially the police, for the effective monitoring of the election, which ensured a peaceful process.”

However, he urged the Police Service to adopt new strategies to swiftly control such events in the future, noting that their response to the recent violence was not timely.

“But I will ask the leadership of the police to review its practices, as they allowed the post-election violence to linger for too long before it was brought under control,” he noted.

Nana Akufo-Addo made these comments while speaking at the bicentennial anniversary of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana on Sunday, 22 December, in Accra.

He also commended the Electoral Commission (EC) for what he described as its “diligent and transparent efforts in supervising the electoral process and compiling and delivering the results of the elections.”

The president concluded by charging all Ghanaians to champion and uphold the country’s enviable democracy.