The demo of "Aagbe wo" eclipsed Mahama's candidacy – The host of Let's Vote Count

General News on Friday, February 8, 2019

Source: 3news.com

2019-02-08

The Managing Director of the Ghana Publishing Company and President of the Alliance Let My Vote Count, David Asante, affirmed that Thursday's protest under the auspices of the All-Party Coalition for National Sovereignty, dubbed "Aagbe Wo &" Had been used by members of the National Democratic Congress (NEC) of former President John Dramani Mahama, presidential candidate for the 2020 elections.

He claimed that the protest had been designed by the largest opposition party to present his candidate for the next general election and not to protest Ayawaso West Wuogon's electoral violence, as they have been described.

Speaking at TV3's New Day show, Mr Asante observed that the rationale for the demonstration was concealed.

"It is perfectly right to question the logic behind the demonstration, what is the logic? To President John Mahama's presidential candidacy, because it was an NDC affair, "he told Bright Nana Amfoh.

"They call it a coalition, the only person I did not see in the NDC, is Bernard Monah. All the men who attended the demonstration are men of the NDC, so it must be made clear that it was an NDC demonstration, "he insisted.

As the leader of the Alliance Let My Vote Count, Mr. Asante is proud of the fact that this group has defended the right of citizens to demonstrate without any undue hindrance to security agencies.

He cites in particular a court case that the group was successful against the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney General in a decision that security agencies can not use ex parte applications for prohibit public demonstrations.

"What I mean is that we have gradually stopped using rudimentary methods to guide demonstrations," he said, justifying the impact of their lawsuit.

Mr Asante said that it was refreshing to find that the police were able to maintain peace and order and ensure the safety of all protesters without any hiccups.

He observed that the conduct of the security agencies contrasted sharply with the way they conducted themselves during protests under Mahama's administration.

According to him, the security services "deserve to be commended for the peace with which they directed the few hundred NDC men who marched through the streets to protest".