KUMASI AFTERMATH

Story: Caroline Boateng The Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), Dr Emmanuel Akwetey is challenging the Ghana Police Service to arrest and prosecute perpetrators of sporadic violence in the aftermath of the declaration of the 2012 election results on Sunday, December 9, 2012. He said that would be in keeping with the ideals of the Kumasi Declaration, the pledge to peace and the abhorrence of impunity, signed by all the leaders of all political parties on November 27, 2012, before the elections. In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Dr Akwetey, who was one of the facilitators of the Declaration, was of the view that the police administration, who were also represented by their chief, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Paul Tawiah Quaye, at the signing, had been emboldened by the presence of their chief and also the Chief Justice of Ghana, Mrs Justice Theodora Wood, at the public show of commitment to peace by the all flag bearers in Kumasi, where the declaration was signed. Thus, the police also did not have to condone impunity because it was being perpetrated by a particular political party supporter. Dr Akwetey in an assessment of the security situation in the country, said Ghana was stable and had gone through the rough patch because despite intermitent violence perpetrated by some, reprisals had been limitted, while some political leaders, like the chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Jake obetsebi Lamptey hadspoken out to point out that a supporter would be criminally liable for violence. He attributed the stability in part to the moral pledge taken by political leadership in the Kumasi Declaration. On the demonstration held in Kumasi by NPP supporters to protest the results of the election, Dr Akwetey was of the view that it lay within the rights of supporters to demonstrate so long as they did that within the confines of the law. He was happy that the demonstration was not characterised by acts of violence. He admonished Ghanaians to believe in themselves and trust in their abilities to do the right thing, and described the future as an interesting phase as the NPP headed for the courts to challenge the election results. He added that all eyes would be on the judiciary then, and how they managed the process would further add to the reputation of the country as a place of democrac and the rule of law.