The National Democratic Congress(NDC) Youth Organizers across the sixteen(16) regions of Ghana, has taken a soothing and refreshing cognizance following the proclamation by former President John Mahama that the 2024 elections will be a ‘do or die‘ affair at the polling and collation centers.
A statement signed by the organizers to back their 2020 presidential candidate’s remark said; “the conduct of the Electoral Commission in the last general election, the use of State-sponsored brigands disguised as Military personnel and the subsequent tacit endorsement of all the ills of the electoral process by the Supreme Court narrowed everything down to its simplest understanding that elections at every polling station and collation center must be do or die”.
It will be recalled that, on December 30, 2020, John Mahama filed a petition challenging the results of the general polls, insisting that none of the nine presidential candidates obtained the mandatory 50%+1 vote constitutional threshold to be declared the winner of the polls.
Mr. Mahama based his arguments on some declaration errors made by the EC as well as allegations of vote padding and pray the court to declare the EC’s declaration of President Nana Akufo-Addo as winner of the polls as unconstitutional, null and void.
But three months after the trial commenced, the Supreme Court, ruled that the petition as filed by John Mahama was without merit.
According to them, the dismal performance of Justices of the Supreme Court in the last election petition gave rise to their decision that everything about elections must be settled at the various polling stations irrespective of the shape or form it will assume.
” To be exact, the Supreme Court gave its clearest backing to the idea that political parties must fight their battles at polling stations and not at the court or police stations”, the statement added.
There has been extensive controversy following the pronouncement by John Mahama that the NDC will be more vigilant amid the next general elections and calls for him to retract his statement.
Mahama, however, justified the comments, clarifying that it is an idiomatic expression, hence he will not retract or apologize.
In reflection of this, the party organizers iterated that, a call for do or die approach in election 2024 is an unwritten code to guide everybody that what is accepted as ballot cast and declared at every polling station should form the basis on which the next President is declared winner.
In furtherance, they commended Mr. Mahama for the adroit mentality with which he want to approach the 2024 elections.
“We applaud H.E John Dramani Mahama for the adroit mentality with which he want to approach the 2024 elections with, and we want to assure him and all Ghanaians who are desperate to vote out the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government that, the do or die mantra will operate as a tool to protect their votes”.
See the full statement below:
By: Nana Araba Bedu-Addo
