National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has stated that signing peace pact documents alone cannot prevent electoral violence unless offenders are punished and state institutions strictly enforce the law.
Speaking during his ongoing thank-you tour of the Tolon Constituency in the Northern Region, Mr. Asiedu Nketia defended his decision not to sign the 2024 peace pact ahead of the general elections.
According to him, peace agreements without accountability for past acts of electoral violence cannot guarantee peace during elections.
“The peace pact document was asked to be signed by all political parties before the 2024 elections to ensure that there would be no violence, but my position was that documents do not stop violence. It all boils down to the police, soldiers and the people to stop it,” he said.
He explained that his refusal to sign the agreement was influenced by what he described as the failure of authorities to punish individuals identified in previous election-related violence.
“A commission of enquiry came out, and people who should have been punished were not punished by the then government. That is why I opposed the 2024 peace pact,” he stated.
Asiedu Nketia argued that peace pacts would only be meaningful if institutions responsible for law enforcement and justice were fully committed to holding offenders accountable.
“So if the people who are supposed to ensure offenders get punished, like the police and judges, sign, then I will sign,” he added.
The NDC Chairman also linked the death of Haruna Shaibu, popularly known as Alhaji, during the 2024 elections to electoral violence in the constituency.
According to him, tensions erupted after some persons allegedly attempted to overturn election results through violence, despite the NDC’s victory in the area.
“The unfortunate incident in which Haruna Shaibu passed happened because they knew we had won the elections in this constituency and they wanted to change the results through violence. People stood to prevent it, and in the course of preventing it, that is how our brother lost his life,” he said.
Mr. Asiedu Nketia stressed that electoral violence will only end when perpetrators are prosecuted and punished.
“The only way to stop electoral violence is to punish the people who engage in electoral violence. No document signed anywhere will prevent electoral violence,” he stated.
He further cautioned against ignoring past incidents of political violence, insisting that justice must be pursued regardless of election outcomes.
“Violence has no expiry date, and so this matter of letting sleeping dogs lie is why the violence is not stopping. Justice has to be done,” he added.
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