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YED, Press Release
June 27, 2013
NDC, STOP INTIMIDATING THE JUDICIARY, IT
WILL NOT WORK
The NPP wishes to draw the attention of the public to what we
see to be deliberate, disturbing trend on the part of the ruling
NDC in their commentary on the election petition.
On the 10th of December 2012, shortly after the NPP gave notice
of filing a petition to challenge the results of the
presidential election, senior Government communicator, Lawyer
Kakra Essamua, said on Asempa FM, “The NPP and its appendages
should not elude themselves into thinking that “their agents in
the law courts will help them because government will not allow
them to perpetrate lawlessness in the country. If anybody with
two regions wants to be president of this country; I, from the
Central region, will support a coup.”
In recent times, as the trial of the election petition peaks,
the President, his Ministers and communicators appear to be
preparing the minds of their supporters to rejecting any
decision of the Supreme Court that may declare his election
invalid.
MAJORITY CAUCUS ON MULTITV
On Tuesday, a day after the Justice William Atuguba court gave
its final warning to the public against utterances that could
bring the judiciary into disrepute or disturb the peace of the
nation, The NDC’s posture of not accepting the verdict of the
Supreme Court was re-echoed by host of MultiTV’s Majority
Caucus, Ali Dawood.
On Tuesday 25th June, Mr Dawood said on MultiTV, “I do not see
any Supreme Court over-turning any decision made by the EC. In
other words President Mahama’s presidency is going to be intact.
If anything at all, it is going to be confirmed by the Supreme
Court and that there is never going to be a time, whether 2013
or the years to come, where we will have over-turning of
verdicts in the Supreme Court, it is not going to happen. For
all of you NDC, including NP, neutral minded persons watching
me, nothing is going to come out of the Supreme Court case. No
Supreme Court is going to over-turn any decision, take it from
me.”
Before that, a leading communicator of the NDC, Gabby Assumeng
on the 21st of June 2013 on Okay FM called for a “civil war”
should the Supreme Court declare that Nana Akufo-Addo rightfully
won the 2013 elections.
He said, “I tell you that, look this election which the NDC has
won genuinely, there is no place for Nana Addo; H.E President
Mahama will make his 4 years mandate and there is nobody, Nana
Addo, on the face of the pink sheet, to be a President, then
maybe we are calling for civil war in this country, I am telling
you.”
Dr Clement Apaak and Mr Bernard Mornah, members of a newly
formed pro-NDC Government group, Coalition of Ghanaian Voters,
said at a public forum in Tamale, on the 22nd of June 2013, that
the Supreme Court has no power to declare Nana Akufo-Addo, the
1st petitioner, President. Indeed Bernard Mornah at the event
told sympathisers of the NDC, not to entertain any fears that
the ongoing election petition could be declared to favour the
petitioners. The PNC General Secretary added that what the court
could do was to give recommendations, if any, to the Electoral
Commission to implement, “but the court cannot reverse the
decision of the EC and declare anybody the winner of the 2012
elections.”
On the 25th of June, a day after Justice Atugubah’s directives
asking all to refrain from contemptuous comments, a defeated
parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress in
the Binduri constituency, Stephen Atubigah, went on Asempa FM’s
Ekosi Sen programme threatening that the NDC would not obey the
Supreme Court if the ruling went against them and that they were
preparing for civil war if the Supreme Court dared overturn the
disputed declaration of December 9th, 2012 in favour of the
Petitioners.
He said, “If the NPP wins the court case; it will be a
bitter-sweet victory because Ghana cannot contain all of us. The
foot-soldiers of the NDC are prepared to protect the presidency
to the peril of their lives. We will not allow President John
Mahama to hand over power even if the Supreme Court rules in
favour of the petitioners. We are prepared to meet the NPP boot
for boot. We are ever ready; we will not hand over. It will be
absurd for anyone to think that after official declaration of
results and swearing-in of President Mahama, the court can
overturn the verdict of the EC."
When he was asked by the host of the programme to retract these
statements, he refused and stated that he had the authority of
President Mahama to make these statements.
Stephen Atubigah subsequently granted an interview to
Kumasi-based radio station, Boss FM, on the 26th of June 2013
and said, “The NDC will never vacate the presidency, should the
Supreme Court declare Nana Addo and NPP victors of the case. We
are not and will not in the future get out of government;
whatever the Court will say will not be practical, unless such
comments are in our favour. There will be mayhem in Ghana if the
Court in anyway call victory for the NPP”
We believe strongly that these blatant inflammatory threats to
the constitutional authority of the Supreme Court are
orchestrated and by minds that do not have the interest of the
nation at heart. They appear to have the implicit support of the
Government because no action whatsoever has been taken and they
feed on similar statements from the President which give the
false impression that the Supreme Court has no option but to
decide in his favour.
It appears this belligerent posture, starting from the President
down to his communicators, is to intimidate the court and let
their supporters know that there is no way they can lose the
case. It has been deliberately designed to intimidate and
frighten the Court into acquiescing in a so-called ‘status quo’.
But, the only status that matters here is the Constitution of
the Republic.
THE STATUS QUO
Article 64(2) provides that the Supreme Court’s declaration will
be without prejudice to the acts of a President declared invalid
by the Court. This means the Court has the power to annul a
presidential election and to do so will be in line with the
status quo. The only “status quo” that matters is the
Constitution and what can disturb it is rather the NDC’s posture
that they will not accept the verdict of the Supreme Court.
If they will not accept then we will do anything per Article 3
to defend the Constitution of the Republic.
Contrary to the carefully crafted propaganda of a party prone to
violence, Nana Addo chose to petition the Supreme Court under
Article 64. This difficult decision not only had to boldly
confront voices urging acquiescence in the name of ‘peace’ but
also justify his stance to a cynical international community
which usually brushes such fundamental issues aside on the basis
of its observer reports. Above all, Nana had to scale the high
hurdle of delivering convincing evidence to the Court within
twenty one days, a monumental task challenged by the
conventional wisdom of accepting the Electoral Commission’s
version of ‘credible’ elections.
Every objective Ghanaian would concede that the very act of
sending the issue to court has been beneficial to the country.
That courageous decision did not only calm the country down but
also is poised to foster many significant changes to politics
and state institutions in Ghana. And that is why the entire
nation is waiting patiently and quietly for the Supreme Court to
pronounce. Why then would some start propaganda to pre-empt the
decision of the Court with vile threats?
MARTYRS DAY
This is not a matter to be taken lightly. The upcoming Martyrs
Day this weekend is ample testimony of what can happen if the
defenders of liberty go to sleep. About thirty years ago, under
the watch of the coup imposed Provisional National Defence
Council (PNDC), the political father of the NDC, three erudite
Justices and two others lost their lives in a brutal murder in a
way that the nation is yet to come to terms with.
At the time, a bold statement of intent about not tolerating
lawlessness was made when Ghanaians compelled the PNDC to set up
the Special Investigation Board (SIB). After a brave job, the
PNDC Government only partially implemented the report, saddling
the nation with a culture of impunity which the NDC has
escalated to unprecedented heights. What we know, and are proud
of as a nation, is that, those Justices defended our liberties
with their lives. That is why we continue to celebrate them.
At that time, in their moment of pain, they stood alone. Now, in
our moment of national landmark decision making, we want to
assure our Justices of the Court that they will never stand
alone. We will defend them to the hilt. The NDC will not have
its way.
We repeat. This time, the NDC will not have its way.
This society is maturing in its democratic practice. It will not
succumb to bare threats of which infamous allusions to killing
cats may easily be recalled. It would be a bad mistake to take
the quiet Ghanaian for granted. Long suffering, maybe, but not
meek. And indeed, with long memories, contrary to what some
politicians think.
Ghanaians remember the regime which stripped people of their
properties, destroyed families and killed in the name of
corruption eradication. Today, they have been found out by EOCO
and the Sole Commissioner to have deliberately connived to steal
millions from the State. The Supreme Court has confirmed the
stealing, labelling it as an alliance to create, loot and share.
Rather than deal decisively with such gargantuan and mind
boggling impunity and corruption, the President chooses to join
his communication foot-soldier chorus to undermine the Supreme
Court. Having told his party faithful that he would be declared
President by the Court, he has recently added ‘God ordained’ to
his rhetoric. Moreover, he has not seen it fit to respect the
Supreme Court by putting in an appearance. Furthermore, he
appears to have endorsed and blessed the inflammatory utterances
of the coup and civil war mongers among his official
communicators by refusing to condemn them or asking that they be
investigated.
But we want to assure him. Ghanaians are not cowards. The
Constitution is a living document. It cannot be intimidated.
Ghanaians will not be intimidated. The preamble and Article 3
are emphatic about our commitment to protect and defend hard won
freedoms. Article 41 is a clear call to defend national
resources. Our intelligence reports have been confirmed by the
latest posture of the NDC. It is as, in the view of the NDC, “if
we can’t fight the evidence let us fight the judiciary.”
We want to assure the nine Justices sitting on the election
petition panel that the people of Ghana are with them and urge
them to do what is just and right.
......signed......
Nana Akomea,
Director of Communications, NPP
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