Former President John Mahama has accused the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) of beating war drums ahead of next year’s general elections.

According to him, during the gun violence-riddled Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election on 31 January 2019, an NPP official boldly told the supporters of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), who were at the receiving end of the brutalities meted out by national security operatives, that the rumpus was a mere dress rehearsal for the 2020 polls.

“These are war drums that are being beaten and one cannot take them lightly that something is not going to happen in 2020”, Mr Mahama observed when he met the Christian Council of Ghana at its secretariat in Accra, recently, adding: “God forbid that we have that kind of violence spread nationwide; you wonder what would happen to this country of ours”.

The flag bearer of the NDC expressed confidence in the Ghanaian people, who, he said, will not allow the Ayawaso West Wuogon-like violence to recur.

“We believe that the people of Ghana will protect their election”, he told the Council, adding: “They will protect their ballots and not allow any thugs to come and intimidate them and disrupt the elections”.

The meeting formed part of the NDC’s ongoing consultations with identifiable groups and key stakeholders ahead of the 2020 elections.