The parliamentary candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Dome-Kwabenya constituency in Accra, Mike Ocquaye Jnr., has bemoaned what appears to be mobocracy (rule of the mob) embarked on by element s of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) after the 7 December elections, decrying that “Mobocracy cannot replace democracy in Ghana!”
In a statement released yesterday to condemn the irregularities that has plagued the parliamentary election in the constituency, the Free Zones Chief Executive stated that “…we say that we have won the parliamentary election as NPP in the Dome-Kwabenya constituency. We shall pursue the matter at all levels including the High Court of Ghana for justice to be done.”
Read the full unedited statement from the former ambassador to India, Mike Ocquaye Jnr:
PRESS STATEMENT BY NPP DOME KWABENYA ON ELECTORAL IRREGULARITIES
Good day to Dome-Kwabenya constituents, all Ghanaians and members of the press. We are here today to make an official statement for the record as to previous and current state of affairs concerning the 2024 elections in Dome-Kwabenya.
- The actual voting throughout the constituency was peaceful. The counting at the end of voting, was incident-free and all was well at this stage of all polling stations.
- Agents of the NPP started arriving at the collation center at about 12:00 midnight December 8th, 2024. The mere size of the constituency meant that not all our pink sheets were part of the first batch to be collated. When the second batch of our pink sheets arrived at about 2am, we decided to take it straight to the collation center and scan them there to prevent further delays.
However, before we started to scan the sheets an NDC mob which was gathered outside, entered the collation center itself, snatched our pink sheets and bolted. The police followed up and retrieved some of the pink sheets, after about an hour.
- In the meantime, the EC District Director proceeded to collate the presidential results in conjunction with party agents from NPP and NDC among others. At about 9am on Sunday December 8th, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia-the flagbearer of the NPP conceded the Presidential elections, so together with EC and NDC agents agreed to move to collate the parliamentary results and finish with the presidential later. Then the mob of NDC supporters started chanting that John Mahama has won and so we should stop collating the parliamentary because NDC had won. Nevertheless, the EC proceeded with the collation
- At about 12 noon Sunday December 8th 2024, some of the EC’s pink sheets and materials needed for verification of results were in sealed ballot boxes in EC’s District Office. All agents agreed that EC with representatives from NPP and NDC escorted by the police should retrieve same. Upon the arrival of the branded EC vehicle, they were set upon by the NDC mob, car glass broken, car vandalized, agents pepper sprayed, driver beaten with an open head wound, EC materials seized and burnt.
- After the police returned calm, under the direction of the EC Director we all agreed to continue the collation and deal with the missing materials afterwards to attain a fully complete collation. At about 2:30pm the first wave of the mob entered the collation center and stopped the process. The police managed to overcome them and took them to the ground floor. Then the NDC parliamentary candidate came down and stood through the sunroof of her husband’s car and addressed the mob that she had won the election and that the EC had refused to declare her as the winner. This incited the mob who rushed into the collation center while she drove off. The mob numbering over 1,000 people started to attack the policemen. The EC officials sensing danger, started hiding all the documents. The mob upstairs and those being held downstairs, regrouped and started beating anyone in sight including EC officials and party officials. They then proceeded to vandalize the whole collation center, breaking all the materials, infrastructure, tables, chairs, machines, verification machines and election materials.
The police, EC District Director, his staff and all others fled the center. They broke the EC Director’s yellow Toyota car side mirror as he drove off. He later informed our constituency chairman, Mr. Robert Osei Bonsu, he was afraid for his life and that the process would be continued at the regional office due to the safety challenges and that he would inform him of the time later.
However, at around 9pm we saw what seemed to be an activity at the collation center on TV. After making several calls we found out that the presiding officer without informing the EC Director of Dome-Kwabenya, had ordered for the collation to restart. He did not call me, the chairman or the secretary to inform us that he had regrouped with the NDC to continue the collation.
How can the EC verify or dispute matters of collation with just the NDC present? That is totally illegal. Will the NDC accept it if I go into a room alone with the EC without their presence and declare that as the result? What was done was null and void. I was not there, my agents were not there, the district director was not there, neither was the Deputy Director even aware of what was happening.
In LAW, he who commits an illegal act is responsible for all the consequences that flow therefrom. The documents that were to be used for cross checking have been snatched, destroyed or burnt.
These acts prevented the EC at the first instance from looking into the matter. If they knew they had won, they should have done the right thing with all the agents present and all pink sheets present, so the results are collated properly. The NDC mob generated illegality by the violence and should not benefit therefrom.
- On Monday December 9th , at 8am we were informed by the regional EC to come to regional office, upon arrival, both the NDC and NPP representatives were informed that the declaration in Dome-Kwabenya has been suspended.
Re-collation of the parliamentary results by the EC in the presence of both Parties would be done.
This same exercise was going on in another room where the declarations in Okaikwei Central and Ablekuma north had been suspended and re-collation was going on. However, the Dome-Kwabenya NDC reps refused to take part in the process and left the premises. The EC District Officer told us he will consult his supervisors and get back to us. Meanwhile the NDC mob had gathered continued to advance on the EC office, threatening mayhem.
In the meantime, the EC officials proceeded to announce the regional presidential results excluding the incomplete collation of Ablekuma North and Dome Kwabenya. In view of this we are waiting for the FINAL DECISION of the EC to decide our options to overturn this illegality which must never be allowed to stand. It is not a good precedent for election practices in Ghana.
Mobocracy cannot replace democracy in Ghana!
In conclusion, we say that we have won the parliamentary election as NPP in the Dome-Kwabenya constituency. We shall pursue the matter at all levels including the High Court of Ghana for justice to be done.
