Speaking to families of victims of the Techiman South shooting incident, John Mahama said the incident would not have happened if the EC was not incompetent and biased.
He said that elsewhere, the chairperson of the Electoral Commission would have been forced to resign for supervising what he deems to be a rigged election.
He blamed the EC for the incident and asked Jean Mensa to take responsibility for the death and injury to the people.
“But I must say, things shouldn’t have happened this way. This is not our first election. But unfortunately, we find ourselves here due to the incompetence of this Electoral Commission.”
“If this was a more advanced country, the EC Chairperson would have been forced to resign in shame. Ghana has been tagged as the beacon of democracy for a long time, but the EC has soiled our reputation. This EC will go down in history as the worst ever,” Mr. Mahama added.
The NDC flagbearer also questioned the presence of the military during the elections.
“We have over the years seen only the police, immigration, and fire services during elections. The military was only needed when things got out of hand. So how come this time around the military was present? And to think that our president termed the deaths as a few. I cannot even claim political power when even life is lost in the process.”
Mahama also reiterated the NDC stance that until an audit is done of the result of the 2020 election, it will not accept it.
“A lot of things are happening in the country’s capital. But as a party, we are looking at auditing the pink sheets to better understand what happened in each constituency. When we are through, we will publicise our findings.”
Techiman South has become a contentious topic following a misunderstanding between the two leading parties over the outcome of the parliamentary elections.
Despite the EC announcing NPP’s Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah being declared the winner, the NDC maintains that the EC officials were coerced by the military and national security officials to alter the results in the NPP’s favour.
The disagreement culminated in some violence which led to the killing of one person.
One other person was left in critical condition while six others sustained gunshot wounds.
John Mahama was accompanied by the NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia; the National Women’s Organiser, Hannah Bissiw; National Chairman Ofosu Ampoffo; the Techiman South Parliamentary Candidate, Christopher Beyere, among others.
Flagbearer for the National Democratic Congress, John Mahama