Former President Jerry Rawlings has accused the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) of fixing the margin of the 2008 election results and that it is because the NPP was not allowed to get away with its thievery that Ghana is still seen as a symbol of democracy and stability.
In a speech at the University of Oslo on the topic �Achieving human centered development in Africa: Possibilities and challenges� which he delivered on Thursday September 4, 2009, Mr Rawlings stated ��The experience in Ghana during the rule of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) between 2001 and 2009 clearly indicated that even though the second step � Constitution � was in place, massive influence over both the Legislature and Judiciary by the Executive led to a corrupt and abused system and a breakdown in the value of democracy.
Although the NDC won by a large margin, the results were announced as a narrow margin victory. Had the NPP been allowed get away with their thievery in 2008/2009, the world might have seen their �symbol of democracy and stability� turn into a �reality of the power of the common good�.
�By 1079 Ghana was in a total mess after successive failures by both military and civilian governments. Within the ranks of the military as well as the ranks of the academia a call came for change so that the needs of the neglected majority � the poor and under serviced � can be addressed. This was indeed a call for human based development and governance. The events of 4 June 1979 and 31 December 1982 followed this call, and changed the course that Ghana was on at that stage forever.�
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