Ernest Kofi Adu
27 October 2008
Kumasi — THE FOUNDER of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Ex-President Jerry John Rawlings, has stated that it was his expectation that this year's elections would be free and fair.
According to him, the 2004 general elections could not pass the test of what is meant by free and fair elections, due in part to multiples of political violence, and many electoral frauds perpetuated at various polling stations across the country, to the disadvantage of his party.
Speaking in an interview on Hello FM in Kumasi, the former President said the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) after realising its defeat, following a research conducted, decided to use state apparatus and some officers of the Electoral Commission (EC), to manipulate the electoral system.
Mr. Rawlings, who raised issues over the recent registration exercise the EC conducted, when asked whether he had confidence in the current electoral system, indicated that the ruling party was afraid of losing the December 7 elections, because the government had cobwebs in its cupboard.
According to him, the Gushiegu violence and others were part of the grand design and tactics of the NPP government, to hold on to power at all costs.
The NDC founder said the violence was far from the impression created by the state security agents, as being violence between two factional groups.
To him, it was a well-calculated plan of the NPP government, adding "they deliberately put on NDC T-shirts to cause confusion, and turn back to accuse us of the act."
The former President, who has joined the campaign of his party's presidential candidate in the Ashanti Region, said his focus of campaign was, and is, still fixed on justice and truth, which are part of the 'golden' principles of good governance, that can lead to the socio-economic transformation of this country.
According to him, President Kufuor and his government had imprisoned the value of justice and truth, and given in to lies, killings of innocent souls, and corrupt practices, and asked rhetorically, "where lies Kufuor's principle of good governance and rule of law?'
The NDC Godfather said President Kufuor lied about him, by going round and telling his colleagues abroad, that he (Rawlings) had stolen from the national purse and stashed it into his personal account at a Swiss bank.
He continued that since there was no truth in the country, the NPP government had put his wife, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, on trial, for what he considered to be a false charge. "This is how far Kufuor has gone," he noted.
Buttressing his argument further, Mr. Rawlings revisited his accusation that the NPP government was responsible for the killing of the then Dagbon King, Ya-Na Yakubu Andani, and for this reason, manipulated the investigators to do shoddy work.
About the difference between his party, NDC, and the ruling party, NPP, the Ex-President said the current administration only knew about the human psychology, but lacked social psychology, hence, the party leaders always packaging lies for the consumption of Ghanaians.
According to Mr. Rawlings, the good people of Ghana had realised the deception and lies of the NPP government and propaganda used to win power in 2000, and therefore, would not waste their votes again, this time round.
Speaking on his legacy, the NDC founder said by the time he left office, he had made provision of road construction, basic clean water, health facilities and electricity, to about 95% of Ghanaians, with emphasis on the rural electrification and boreholes.
There were irregular interjections from his Special Aide, Mr. Kofi Adams, in support of several arguments and statements made against the NPP government.
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