The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has accused the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of plotting to rig the 2024 general elections through a strategy of disrupting parliamentary proceedings. The NPP claims this plan is detailed in a leaked document titled “Winning the 2024 Elections and Beyond: A Comprehensive NDC Strategy,” which allegedly outlines methods to frustrate government efforts and create instability.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, the NPP’s Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagbah, stated that the document reveals a plan to manipulate the electoral process using undemocratic means. He claimed the NDC’s tactics include leveraging its numbers in the hung Parliament to obstruct government business and sabotage key revenue measures.
“The secret document of the NDC had a plan right from January 08, 2021, to frustrate the government and make it unpopular through foul means to win power on December 07, 2024. One would think that any political opposition party would do the same; indeed, that is not problematic if those plans are legitimate and, in the nation’s, best interest. However, this Document we have uncovered promotes crude, undemocratic, and unpatriotic means of achieving the NDC’s political objectives.”
“The NPP’s desire for protecting the peace and stability of our dear country remains unmatched. As our Majority Leader Afenyo-Markin put it, ‘We want to conduct ourselves in a manner that will not put our children and young people of this country to shame'”.
He cited several instances where the NDC minority in Parliament allegedly acted on this strategy, including their opposition to crucial revenue measures like the E-Levy, among others.
“The NDC, on the other hand, prefers to dispense with civility, and go back to factory settings, namely, to be crude, crass, chaotic, confused, rude and violent. That’s what the NDC means when they say they want a so-called Reset. The NDC minority has been disruptive, obstructive, and uncooperative since day one, and the Document proves that this has been their plan. Pivotal in this regard is blocking the passage of the revenue measures proposed in the 2022 Budget, including the MDA Fees and Charges Bill, the Tax Exemption Bill, and the E-Levy Bill. The NDC minority executed the directives of the Secret Document by blocking a critical revenue measure, the E-levy. It rendered it incapable of raising the projected revenue when it eventually passed. I know you remember the protracted debate about the e-levy and the failure of Parliament to pass the e-levy bill before the December 31st deadline,” he added.
Ahiagbah praised the NPP’s parliamentary caucus for upholding democratic values and resisting the NDC’s alleged attempts to incite chaos in the House.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Benjamin Sackey
