If you allow violence to brew, it will happen whether you sign a declaration or not - Asiedu Nketiah

The National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, has expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of signing peace pacts ahead of elections, asserting that such agreements have not produced meaningful outcomes in the past.

Speaking on Accra-based JoyNews on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, Asiedu Nketiah emphasised that his party will not be signing any peace agreements ahead of the December elections. He argued that merely signing a peace pact does not prevent election-related violence.

“Signing a peace declaration doesn’t mean anything to the party, as previous pacts have not yielded any real results,” he stated.

According to him, the key to preventing violence is proactive measures rather than symbolic gestures.

“If you allow violence to brew, it will happen whether you sign a declaration or not. That’s why, more than a year ago, I started talking about the need to remove the building blocks for a violent election,” Asiedu Nketiah explained.

He urged stakeholders to focus on addressing the root causes of electoral violence rather than relying on peace pacts as a solution. He called on those responsible to take action before issues escalate, rather than waiting until tensions have already built up.

“At any stage when something is happening, I call on those who, in the future, will call us to sign a declaration to speak up and stop it from happening. Otherwise, if you let these issues build up and then say, ‘Let’s play a peace football match, sign a declaration, and hope for a peaceful election,’ it won’t work. We did all this and more in 2020,” he remarked.

The NDC chairman cited the 2020 elections as an example, noting that despite the efforts of the National Peace Council and Council of State, the process was still marred by violence.

He also raised concerns about the alleged illegal recruitment of about 10,000 people into the security services, which he believes is a potential source of unrest.

“Signing or not signing is not the issue. What we need to address are the building blocks that lead to violence,” he insisted.

TWI NEWS

NAY/ADG

#CelebratingUncleEboWhyte: Documentary set for release

Supreme Court judge, Justice Kulendi reveals one secret about Uncle Ebo Whyte #ExcellenceInTheatre#CelebratingEboWhyte#EboWhyteAt70 pic.twitter.com/MnRmGkayiu

— GhanaWeb (@TheGhanaWeb) August 15, 2024