Presidential Candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the 2024 Presidential Peace Pact. According to him, past incidents of electoral violence cast doubts on its significance, deeming it potentially ceremonial without concrete action.
Speaking at the signing of the 4th Presidential Peace Pact in Accra on Thursday, 28th November, Mahama referenced the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence and the killing of eight people during the 2020 elections.
He stated:
Mistrust is built through a mismatch between words and gaslighting on the part of those in authority. There is reason to be concerned that the signing of this pact, though well-intentioned, could amount to nothing if it is not followed by concrete actions to guarantee the peace by the stakeholders and government. Events and happenings during the last election and during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election create considerable doubts about the genuineness of some of the commitments that we might make today.
Mahama criticised the government for its failure to prosecute those responsible for the 2020 election-related deaths, questioning:
How are we to believe that such killings will not reoccur during this election? As well, there also remains the vexed question of the use of thugs dressed in security service uniforms to intimidate and brutalise citizens during elections. How can we tell these thugs from the professional members of the security services, especially when they carry no name tags and conceal their faces with masks?
He called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, to ensure the arrest of such thugs and urged stakeholders to ensure that the peace pact translates into truly peaceful elections.