On Tuesday, September 17, 2024, the demonstration by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) against so-called discrepancies in the voter register descended into chaos, resulting in the destruction of Electoral Commission (EC) properties in some EC offices across the country.
What should have been a peaceful protest turned into a violent confrontation, raising serious questions about the NDC’s strategies in the lead-up to the 2024 elections.
For instance, about 5,000 NDC supporters gathered at the party’s Ashanti regional headquarters in Amakuom at approximately 10:30 am, marching toward the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (ARCC). Despite a peaceful start, the protest took a dark turn when NDC Regional Chairman Nana Akwasi Agyeman blatantly defied police instructions. Instead of submitting their petition as planned, he led the demonstrators to the EC’s regional office, disregarding the law and setting the stage for violent unrest.
The police, opting for restraint, refrained from using firearms to control the crowd. However, the situation escalated dramatically, and the officers were compelled to fire tear gas to disperse the increasingly aggressive mob. In response, the protesters pelted stones at the police, stormed the EC premises, and shattered the main glass doors in an appalling display of lawlessness. The damage to EC properties is extensive, and it marks yet another disturbing episode in a pattern of violence associated with the opposition NDC.
This incident is far from isolated. Time and again, the NDC has shown a disturbing tendency to turn to aggression when it doesn’t get its way. For the party, it appears to be a case of “our way or no way,” with protests frequently escalating into violent confrontations. Is this the kind of behaviour Ghanaians can expect from the party in the crucial months leading up to the 2024 elections? Violence, vandalism, and defiance of lawful orders cannot be tolerated in any democratic society.
Ghana stands at a crossroads. The country cannot afford the destabilising chaos that such violent actions bring. The people of Ghana deserve a peaceful election process, free from intimidation and destruction. Those who seek to create unrest for political gain must either stand down or be dealt with swiftly and firmly by the law.
Ghana’s democracy, hard-earned through decades of stability, cannot be undermined by those who seek to exploit it through chaos. Peace must prevail, and anyone plotting to disrupt it must face the full force of justice.