The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama has blatantly refused to concede to the loss of his presidential election bid in the just ended 2020 general elections.
According to him, Ghanaians from every region “of this great nation voted for change” and as such were victors in “both the Presidential and the Parliamentary elections”.
Expressing his belief in being “a staunch believer in the experiment of democracy”, he noted that the system of governance allows the “ultimate decision-making power to rest in the hands” of the people of Ghana.
Conceding to the fact the he succumbed and respected “the will of the people” by stepping down to pave way for President Akufo-Addo, as the progress of a nation is dependent on it, the “sacred verdict of the people must be respected”.
“My Brothers and Sisters, it is important to remember that the government that is in power controls all of the state resources and oversees all of the state’s institutions. The line he treads between his loyalty to the power that is held by the people, and by his own desire to hold on to power, can be a thin one indeed”.
Mr. Mahama further iterated the assurances from the Electoral Commission to conduct elections in an atmosphere free from fear, “and that it would be fair, transparent and credible”.
“Unfortunately, that has not been the case. What we witnessed across the country from Monday December 7, 2020 exposed a deliberate plan to manipulate and predetermine the results of the election in favour of the incumbent candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, who, as so happens, controls all of the state resources and oversees the state’s institutions.
“Despite all of the ruling party’s inducements, use of monetary enticements, and other such schemes on a scale never before seen in this country, the good people of this country understood what was at stake, and it was clear, as the result of the votes that were legally cast that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) won the Presidential and Parliamentary elections”.
According to him, no amount of “trickery, sleight of hand, or obfuscation will erase that reality”.
He further commended the NDC parliamentary candidate who have earned for themselves the title of “giant elephant killers”.
“We made up for our 2016 losses and we are now set to become the majority in Parliament. This historic feat after one term demonstrates the strength of our great party, and the strength of the mandate given to us by the good people of Ghana to lead”.
With respect to the Presidential elections, Mr. Mahama revealed that the facts and figures available to the party from pink sheets and other evidence indicate that “numerous steps have been taken to manipulate the results of the election in favour of the incumbent President”.
“We will not accept anything short of a declaration of the legitimate results, which point to an NDC Parliamentary Majority.
“The Chairperson of the EC, in less than 24 hours after her declaration, has admitted that she has made unacceptable errors, which go to the heart of the entire electoral process and cast deep doubt on the credibility of the announced outcome”.
The NDC flagbearer further assured the party’s supporters that they are “beefing up capacity in the constituencies, where the ruling NPP is seeking to overturn our Parliamentary victories already chalked”.
“We are deploying an additional crack teams of lawyers and senior Party officials to support them. Also, in order not to leave any further infractions unaccounted for, the NDC will continue its meticulous audit of all presidential pink sheets to ensure that the verdict of the people is upheld.
“We want to send a caution to the EC that in line with Regulation 47 of CI 127, they should ensure that election data is preserved for a year, after elections”.
