• EC calls for independent investigations into claims made by former President Mahama
• Mr. Mahama on various occasions has made allegations of voter fraud
• Mahama among other things say the EC stuffed ballot papers into ballot boxes
The National Democratic Congress has welcomed calls by the Electoral Commission for investigations to be conducted into allegations of electoral fraud made by former President John Dramani Mahama.
Former President Mahama who was the 2020 presidential candidate of the opposition NDC, aside challenging the presidential election results in court, has on several occasions accused the EC and the government of perpetrating fraud in the elections.
But speaking at a press conference on Monday, the Deputy Chairman of the EC in charge of Corporate Services, Dr Eric Bossman Asare, refuted the allegations while calling on the security services to investigate the allegations.
“The former President has said the EC thumb-printed one million ballot papers for the president of the Republic. This is untrue; and it is a great matter that undermines the credibility of the electoral system and should not be ignored.”
“We see that our silence on this matter has dire consequences on public confidence in the Commission, and we want the police to investigate it,” he stressed.
In a latest statement reacting to the EC’s call, the National Communications Bureau of the NDC says it has all this while been yearning for transparent investigations into Mr Mahama’s allegations.
“The NDC welcomes and accepts the call by the Electoral Commission for transparent investigations into allegations of electoral fraud made by H.E John Dramani Mahama relative to the conduct of the 2020 general elections. This is what we have been yearning for, and we are happy that after trying to avoid accountability by refusing to answer interrogatories and testify in the witness box, the Jean Mensah-led EC has at long last, accepted our challenge,” the statement said.
Despite the EC refuting the claims by Mr Mahama, the NDC say they have incontrovertible evidence and facts to back the claims by their flagbearer.
“We wish to state unequivocally that all the issues raised by our flag-bearer are supported by incontrovertible evidence and facts. We are ever-ready to avail ourselves to prove same before any credible forum.
“The deliberate printing of excess ballot papers by the Jean Mensah/Bossman Asare-led EC, some of which were authenticated with the official validation stamp of the EC and thumb-printed for candidate Akufo-Addo for purposes of ballot stuffing; and the use of some of our State Security Agencies to forcefully manipulate the election outcome in favor of the ruling NPP which led to the killing of eight (innocent Ghanaians, have cast an indelible slur on our enviable democratic credentials and totally eroded the credibility and integrity of our once revered Electoral Commission,” the statement added.
According to the NDC, these allegations poses grave danger to Ghana’s democracy hence the need for an independent investigation into the conduct of the 2020 general elections.
