NDC condemns violent demo leaders

The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has condemned the unruly behavior of organizers of Wednesday’s demonstration in support of calls for the compilation of a new voters register, which turned violent in the process.

According to the National Organizer of the party, Kofi Adams, the leaders’ dereliction of duty was to blame for the chaos that ensued during the protest, adding that they failed woefully to recognize that democracy cannot be practiced in a lawless manner.

The Let My Vote Count Alliance, Movement for Change and Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) joined forces to draw a massive crowd onto the streets to back calls for a new voters register ahead of the 2016 election, insisting the current album is flawed with lots of anomalies.

Midway into the demonstration, pandemonium broke when riot control police fired tear gas and hot water cannons on protesters.

The police took the action after some recalcitrant demonstrators wanted to force their way through barricades that had been erected to block access to the offices of the Electoral Commission, which the police described as a security zone

The ensuing event left the demonstrators running helter skelter for their dear lives as the police charged on them.

Dozens sustained various degrees of injuries, including NPP stalwart Gabby Otchere-Darko who was stroked with horse whips.

Speaking on Neat FM, Kofi Adams, who was not happy with the leadership of the demonstrators disagreed with claims that the police were overly brute in their handling of the activists, stressing that the protesters’ action got the police response.

“I believe that the police tolerated enough of indiscipline on the part of the demonstrators and at a point they (police) needed to restrain them by the sort of response we saw. The demonstrators violated the very law they wanted to protect them. They sat with the police after the court directed them not to go to the Electoral Commission and they agreed not to, so what was the point in disregarding the court directive and that of the police. We cannot allow such gross indiscipline to go on”.