The two main political parties in Ghana have called for thorough investigations into the violence that characterized the country’s December 7, 2020 general elections.
Both the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) want the alleged killings of civilians and other acts of violence perpetrated during the Presidential and Parliamentary elections to be probed.
Specifically, both parties want investigations to be conducted into the Electoral violence at Odododiodoo, Savelegu, Ablekuma Central, Sefwi Wiawso and Techiman South Constituencies.
The call was made by the parties at a consultative meeting hosted by the National Security Ministry between the NPP and the NDC on Thursday, February 25, 2021.
A communique issued by the Ministry of Information on behalf of the Ministry of National Security late night on March 1, 2021, revealed this.
According to the communique signed by Information Minister-designate, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the meeting was chaired by the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare.
The meeting had in attendance 30 participants including the Presidential Advisor on Security, Brigadier General Emmanuel Okyere (Rtd), Albert Kan-Dapaah, the President’s Representative at the Ministry of National Security; Ambrose Dery, the President’s Representative at the Ministry of Interior; the political and security leadership of the NPP including Freddie Blay, John Boadu, Chairman and General Secretary of the party; and the NDC represented by Kofi Totobi-Quakyi, former Minister for National Security; Larry Gbevlo-Lartey (Rtd) former National Security Coordinator, among others, the communique indicated.
What happened?
There were reported sporadic shootings at some collation centres in the country during the elections.
One of the victims who was shot at Ablekuma Central Constituency of the Greater Accra Region, 30-year-old Ibrahim Abass, later died at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.
Eyewitnesses indicated at that the time that Abass and four other persons, including a police officer, were shot at the collation centre situated at the Odorkor Police Church in the constituency.
Abass’s death brought to six, the known number of persons who lost their lives during the 2020 general elections.
A journalist, Pius Kwanin Asiedu of Ghana Newswatch online portal, was shot in the leg at the Ablekuma Central Collation Centre.
One of the suspected shooters, simply known as Kola is facing criminal charges.
It would be recalled that in the immediate aftermath of the violence and killings, the Ghana Police Service issued a statement, saying that there were 61 recorded cases of electoral and post-electoral violence across Ghana.
Twenty-one of the incidents were true cases of electoral violence, six of which involved gunfire.
Below is the Communique
