The National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has declared that the party will not be signing any peace declaration as the country approaches the upcoming election. Speaking in an interview, he expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of such agreements, citing past experiences. He stated that preventing violence requires proactive measures rather than symbolic gestures.
He further criticised the focus on signing peace agreements after tensions have already escalated, urging authorities to address the root causes of potential violence before it spirals out of control. Mr Asiedu Nketia, affectionately known as General Mosquito, pointed out that despite the involvement of bodies like the Council of State and the Peace Council in previous peace declarations, the 2020 election was still marred by violence.
He also highlighted concerns about the illegal recruitment of about 10,000 individuals into the security services, warning that this could be a brewing source of unrest. In the 2020 election, the NDC protested the results, describing them as “flawed” and alleging that state security forces were used to intimidate voters in their strongholds. The National Election Security Taskforce (NESTF) reported that five lives were lost during the 2020 general elections, with 61 recorded cases of electoral and post-electoral violence across the country, including six incidents involving gunshots.
