The National Peace Council’s much-anticipated peace dialogue ahead of the Akwatia by-election was suspended on Monday after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) staged a walkout over what it described as poor representation by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The NPP, led by its National Organizer, Henry Nana Boakye, said it was shocked to find that the NDC had sent only constituency executives to the high-profile dialogue, despite the presence of top officials from the Ghana Police Service, the National Peace Council, and the Eastern Regional Peace Council.
“For us, we are very disappointed because we accorded this invitation with utmost respect. We came into this meeting fully represented by our Eastern Regional Chairman, Jeff Konadu-Addo, and the National Youth Organizer, Salam Mustapha, only to see that the NDC had sent constituency-level executives,” Nana Boakye told journalists after the meeting.
He argued that the NDC’s representatives lacked the mandate to commit the party to any peace process regarding the by-election, describing their decision as “disrespectful” and “a show of bad faith.”
The NPP has therefore demanded that the NDC return with national or at least regional executives capable of signing a binding peace pact before dialogue resumes.
The Peace Council has meanwhile appealed for calm and indicated it will engage the NDC leadership to resolve the impasse and reconvene the meeting.
The Akwatia by-election, scheduled for later this month, is expected to be fiercely contested, with both parties under pressure to prove their commitment to peace and political maturity.
