Former President John Mahama’s words, according to George Ackom, a lecturer at the Ghana Communications Technical University (GCTU), can hurt state institutions, particularly the Electoral Commission (EC).
He claims that Ghana’s democracy is dependent on its credible institutions, and that using fearful phrases to describe state institutions causes not just dread and panic, but also peril.
Mr Mahama claimed recently, while speaking to Nana Nteboah Prah, the Divisional Chief of Prestea Himan, as part of his Thank You tour of the Western Region, that “more than one million extra ballot papers were printed, which the EC claimed happened by mistake, but on the day of the elections, some of the more than one million extra ballot papers had already been secretly thumb-printed in favor of the NPP.”
“And, as a result, all of these things compromised the legitimacy of the polls and produced an embarrassment,” said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Presidential Candidate in last year’s elections.
George Ackom, appearing on the Wontumi Radio Morning Show requested Mahama to stop from making such statements in order to protect the EC’s reputation.
He urged party members to vote en masse for the NPP in the next general election to prevent Mr. Mahama from making similar accusations.
“If we had voted for President Akufo-Addo by a two-million-vote margin, Mahama would not have had the courage to yell.” President Akufo-Addo has done well, so let’s vote en masse for the NPP government next time,” he said.
