Former President John Dramani Mahama has accused the Akufo-Addo administration of intensifying its efforts to whittle down the numbers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Lawmakers.
Both the NDC and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), all control 137 seats each in Parliament.
But Mr Mahama said the government has not shied away from using bizarre judicial processes to achieve this objective of reducing the opposition party’s number.
A case in point is how the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin South remains an MP yet is barred from performing his functions in Parliament, he said.
This has unjustifiably and inexplicably denied the people of Assin South, representation in Parliament at a time when other constituencies where legal disputes have arisen over the Parliamentary elections of 2020 have their MPs discharging their duties until the determination of the substantive maters brought against them, the 2020 presidential candidate of the NDC added.
“They have also sought to use malicious prosecutions against some of you as a way of intimidating you into silence and docility. These tactics have not diminished your resolve and you continue to remain resolute. That said, a lot is still expected from you as a Minority group
in Parliament.
“Given the way state agencies including some arms of government pander to the will of the Akufo-Addo administration and are prepared to undermine the rules and long-established principles to do their bidding, you remain perhaps the last true bulwark between the longsuffering people of this country and total misrule.
“You have become the immediate hope of a people who labour under irresponsible governance and abuse of office. There is the need therefore to meet this expectation by injecting further impetus into your work by keeping an even keener eye on the activities of the Executive.
“The scrutiny that you are required to do on behalf of the people who elected you also extends to all state institutions. The framers of the 1992 constitution intended that a number of these institutions complement the efforts of the Legislature at ensuring good governance.
The style of this administration has been to subjugate and dominate these institutions for parochial and partisan gain.
“These institutions have thus become pliant tools for the furtherance of the political ends of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and President Akufo-Addo.
“One such institution is the Electoral Commission, which instead of making it easy for our citizens to take part in elections, rather takes delight in making it difficult. They appear determined to ensure the disenfranchisement of sections of our population at all costs through
a misguided insistence on the use of the Ghana card as the only source of identification for a voter card. How do you do this, knowing that the Ghana Card is not available to everyone who should have one?” Mr Mahama said in his remarks at the closing ceremony of a Minority workshop held in the Volta Region on Sunday July 17.
By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana