John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has accused the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) of conspiring with the Electoral Commission (EC) to compromise the outcome of the December 7 general elections in NPP’s favour.
Addressing a mini rally in Sekondi in the Western Region yesterday Tuesday, November 26, Mahama alleged that the EC had recruited 65 NPP members as part of its temporary staff for the upcoming elections in the Gomoa East constituency in the Central Region.
He insisted that these individuals, identified as card-bearing members of the NPP, were recommended to the EC by an NPP Member of Parliament, Gomoa East, Kojo Asemanyi and party executives.
Mahama, argued that this development confirms the NDC’s suspicions of a coordinated effort between the EC and the government to manipulate the election results.
“We all have to be vigilant and keenly observe the polls because we can vote well, but some thieves will rig it. I have seen a video from Gomoa East which contains a recording showing that one NPP MP and his executives submitted 65 party members to an EC official who added them.
“So if such a person is the one at the polling station, do you think he will allow the polls to be fair? That is why we have always been saying that there is a collusion between the EC and the NPP to rig the elections and we have evidence from Gomoa East.”
Ahead of his trip to the Western Region, ex-President Mahama, hit back at President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for describing his legacy as one marked by intermittent power supply, locally known as ‘dumsor.’
In a statement made on Monday, November 25, President Akufo-Addo, labelled Mahama a “failed president,” claiming that he was the only leader not rewarded with a second term due to his poor performance.
The President, further asserted that while past leaders are recognized for their significant contributions, Mahama’s legacy is defined by power outages, or “dumsor.”
Additionally, President Akufo-Addo criticized the NDC’s proposal for a “24-hour economy,” questioning how Mahama could implement such a policy given his track record.
“If he could not keep the lights on for 12 hours during his tenure as president, how can he sustain a 24-hour economy? Stop that lies,” he remarked, labelling the policy as deceitful.
In a rebuttal during his tour of the Western Region on Tuesday, Mahama noted that the power challenges had been resolved before he left office in 2017.
He therefore opined that the President’s assertion was a lie undeserving of a man of his status.
“I expect that when NPP is telling lies, they’ll leave it to the younger ones and the junior ones to do. But when the senior ones like Nana Akufo-Addo says that ‘dumsor’ was not solved before they came, I heard him say that if we could not keep the lights on, how can we run a 24-hour economy?
“In 2016, ‘dumsor’ had been solved. Nobody’s lights went off in 2016, nobody had load shedding in 2016, that is on record,” he responded.
Drawing an analogy from the Bible, Mahama underscored that liars will not make it to heaven.
“You know, liars cannot go to heaven and let me give you a Bible quotation, Proverbs Chapter 19:9, he said, those who bear false witness will not go unpunished and the liars will be destroyed,” he said.
Mr Mahama, had earlier criticised the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government for failing to address key issues affecting Ghanaians.
Mahama accused the government of focusing more on slogans than on meaningful action.
In a Facebook post on November 25, the NDC flagbearer, expressed particular concern over the neglect of farmers and assured that his government would take decisive action to support them when elected in the 2024 general elections.
“Over the last 8 years, this Addo-Bawumia government has prioritised slogans over action. They have forgotten about our farmers. The NDC will deliver.”
He reiterated his promise to enhance production capacities in key commercial crops, including shea and oil palm.
“Enhance production capacities in key commercial crops such as shea, oil palm, cashew, rubber, coconut, citrus, coffee and mango.”
Mahama accused the government of overseeing the destruction of the economy.
“The hardships we are facing, the rising prices of food, the lack of development in our communities, among others, is because of the criminal supervision of the destruction of our economy by Nana Akufo-Addo and Mahamudu Bawumia.
