Ghana almost one-party state - Nduom

Flag bearer of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, has warned that Ghana is one the path to becoming a one-party state that uses state institutions to hound citizens just as, in his view, is being done to him via the Electoral Commission which disqualified him from contesting in the December 7 presidential poll.

He argued that the EC’s failure to abide by what he said was the commission’s own laws proves that no one is insulated from any government institution that wants to punish an individual by all means.

For him, it was important that every individual rather condemns the actions of the EC because any other person can also be a victim.

“When state-sponsored institutions deliberately refuse to follow their own laws as prescribed by the constitution and parliament, just to punish any one of us, none of us is safe. Today, it is Papa Kwesi Nduom. Tomorrow, it may be you,” he wrote in a post on his Facebook page.

Dr Nduom was part of 12 other presidential aspirants who were disqualified from contesting in the elections over alleged illegalities on their nomination forms.

The PPP is seeking “an order of prohibition to restrain the EC from proceeding with balloting for position of presidential candidates for the 7th December elections”.

Dr Nduom wants “those who are supporting and speaking for the Electoral Commission's refusal to accept my nomination papers to become a presidential candidate” to understand that “it is our fragile democracy that is on trial. It is our development aspirations that are on trial. It is our people's prosperity that is on trial. It is our freedom of association and freedom of speech that are on trial”.

He was of the view that “the signs of a potential one-party state are evident. The precursors of a police state are clear: Intimidation, harassment, the use of state-sponsored institutions to prosecute a partisan political agenda are happening. You may not feel it but others are experiencing it”.

“Those who stand to benefit are on TV, radio and in newspapers across the country applauding these institutions. They forget that power does not belong to the institutions or those in power. It belongs to the people. No matter how long it takes, the people will take their power back,” he added.