Politics of Tuesday, 23 March 2021

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

NDC MPs file motion for Parliament to investigate 2020 election violence

Minority Leader Haruna Addrisu Minority Leader Haruna Addrisu

Minority Members of Parliament led by their Leader, Haruna Iddrisu have filed a private member’s motion asking the legislative body to open a full-scale probe into reports of violence that characterized the 2020 general elections.

In addition to the Minority Leader, Muntaka Mubarak, Mahama Ayariga, Alhassan Suhuyini and James Agalga, the other MPs behind the motion are calling on the House to expand its investigation to cover inappropriate interferences by state security in the December 2020 elections and violence against citizens which resulted in the death of seven individuals.

The deceased individuals as listed by MPs include; Tajudeen Alhassan, Abdullah Ayaric, Emmanuel Dompreh, Samira Zakaria, Ibrahim Abass, Rita Otoo and Fuseini Musah.

The December elections recorded over 61 cases of violence across the country according to a police report.

Twenty-one of the recorded violence according to the police were full cases of electoral and post-electoral violence across the country and six of the incidents recorded gunshots.

According to James Agalga, a Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, who had earlier called for the resignation of the Inspector-General of Police, James Oppong-Boanuh, the IGP and other state security agencies failed in their mandate to protect citizens during the elections.

There have already been calls by some Civil Society Organizations, for an investigation into the election violence.

The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) in its post-election report, called on the IGP to furnish Ghanaians with updates on investigations conducted into violent incidents that occurred during the 2020 general election.

It is however not yet known when the motion by the Minority MPs calling for a probe into the violence will be moved in the House.