NPP Should Not Allow NDC To Have Its Way

The Phase One of the biometric voter registration exercise has given a lot of insight into how the failed Mills-Mahama led National Democratic Congress government intends to employ any foul means to entrench itself in power at all cost. The NDC knows it has failed woefully to deliver on the plethora of promises it gave to the electorate to deceive them to vote the Mills-Mahama led administration into office in the 2008 elections. It also knows that the discerning voters have now come to the realization that President Mills is indeed a sheep in a wolf�s clothing that can no longer to be trusted. Mills and his functionaries, therefore, know for sure that any free and fair election will not be in their favour. The agenda is, thus to ensure that all the processes that will lead to the election should not be free and fair. This was clearly seen in the Phase One of the biometric voter registration exercise, where well-orchestrated attempts were made to encourage the exercise in NDC strongholds while frustrating it in NPP strongholds. It was clear that the ruling NDC had a plan it was executing flawlessly to minimize turnout in NPP strongholds while maximizing turnout in NDC strongholds. What is most worrying is that it appears some security personnel are in cahoots with the ruling NDC, and as such unprepared to protect innocent people exercising their democratic rights, especially in situations where one can easily anticipate electoral advantage for the ruling part The reported violence in Asunafo-North in Brong-Ahafo, Old Tafo in Ashanti, Swedru in the Central region and Krowor in Greater Accra, are just few examples that can be cited. In the Asunafo-North incident, the NPP parliamentary candidate had to be rescued by police from his hideout after he was chased by NDC hooligans. At Old Tafo in Ashanti, macho-men on motorcycles just started shooting into the air to frighten people and succeeded in scaring away many people who were trying to register. At Swedru, it was reported that a registration machine has been stolen. At Krowor in Greater Accra, an NPP polling station agent was shot. To us at the New Statesman, it appears the security forces were unable or unwilling in many instances to protect law-abiding citizens trying to exercise their legitimate rights and to participate in the nation�s democratic process. And while all these things were happening, NDC and government functionaries had been extolling the �virtues� of the process, with President Mills remaining absolutely silent about the violence, intimidations and disruptions taking place, apparently because he knew they were all to the electoral advantage of his party. Going into the Phase Two of the registration, the NPP does not need to be told that the NDC is going to unleash more thugs to terrorise potential voters in the party�s stronghold and to further carry out its plot to frustrate the exercise in its strongholds. We at the New Statesman want to encourage the leadership and members of the NPP not to allow the NDC to have its way. We are not encouraging members of the NPP to create confusion, nor engage in any acts of violence or intimation. But we will be highly disappointed if members of the NPP should continue to appear to be docile and allow the NDC to have its way as the Phase Two of the exercise begins today. This is the time for the �All Die Be Die� declaration to be seen to be working: to defend your rights and resist the �oppressor�s rule.�