Koforidua, Sept. 12, GNA- Mr. John Dramani Mahama, Running Mate of the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has challenged the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, to demonstrate his belief in democracy by teaching people around him to respect democratic principles. He explained that, if Nana Akuffo-Addo could not teach his immediate supporters to respect multi-party democratic principles, it would be difficult for him to talk about democracy to Ghanaians. Mr Mahama was speaking at a forum organized by the Koforidua Polytechnic branch of the Tertiary Education Institutional Network (TEIN) in Koforidua as part of his 10-day campaign tour of the Eastern Region.
He explained that in 1996 when members of the Abuakwa South Constituency of the NDC hoisted miniature flags of the party on Royal Palm Trees at Kyebi, supporters of Nana Akuffo Addo went round to remove them.
Mr Mahama said in 2004 after the elections, though Nana Akuffo-Addo won the election as the Member of Parliament for the constituency, his supporters went on the rampage, brutalized some supporters of the NDC and burnt down the NDC constituency office at Kyebi.
He said until the recent burning down of NDC party office in Tamale, Kyebi, the constituency headquarters of Nana Akuffo-Addo remained the only place in the country where NDC party office had been burnt down by supporters of NPP.
Mr Mahama said this year, when members of the NDC in Kyebi went round to paste their posters at Kyebi, by the following day all the posters had been removed.
He explained that for multi-party democracy to develop there is the need for all political parties to be given a level playing ground to campaign and market themselves.
Mr. Mahama said God, in his own wisdom created human beings in a way that not all people accept the same thing and therefore all leaders who claim to be democratic needed to teach their immediate supporters to respect that principle.
