A former National Security Advisor and Chairman of the Communication Committee of the main opposition National Democratic Congress’ 2020 Campaign, Mr Totobi Quakyi, has advised the incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) against using foul means to hold on to power even if it loses the 7 December 2020 polls.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, 6 December 2020, Mr Totobi Quakyi said: “We will defend tomorrow’s ballot at all cost”, adding: “We are interested in a credible, transparent, free, fair elections”.
Mr Quakyi, who spoke right after Lt. Col. (Rtd) Larry Gbevlo-Lartey, Director of Operations of the NDC’s 2020 Campaign, said: “We have participated in a number of engagements at the level of the national security Council and at those meetings, we made it very clear that we were there because we are interested in the peace and stability of Ghana but above all, we are interested in a credible and transparent election”.
“We all talk about peace and stability but as he [Gbevlo-Lartey] said, the onus lies on the EC to do what is right”, adding: “We think that when the right things are done, we in the NDC, are in pole position to win the 2020 elections”.
He urged the incumbent party to resist the temptation of going against the will of the people at the end of the polls.
“At a time like this, you’ll find that members of the ruling government, who fear the inevitable, will attempt to engage in one or two things in order to forestall hat is about to happen.
“We have seen it in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 but all I want to tell the members of the ruling government and the outgoing government and party for that matter, is that at the end of the day, they must look at the larger picture and that larger picture is the interest, the stability and the future of this country.
“Nothing that they desire, in terms of power or to remain in power, must override that larger national interest, which is the sustenance and the stability of democracy in Ghana”, he said.
In his view, “it is the winning and the losing that has strengthened Ghana’s democracy and brought us to this point and, so, I would expect that in every party and, especially at a time like this, there would be some hawks who would want to do certain things”.
“Like I said, they should be guided by the bigger picture, they should be guided by what is in the larger national interest. At the end of the day, we want to have a Ghana that they are all proud of. At the end of the day, you want to be able to sit back and say: ‘the best party won’, and for that matter, that the NDC, which now is the best party, with the best ideas, won”, Mr Totobi Quakyi noted.
