The Interior Minister, Henry Quartey says the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government was ready to hand over power peacefully to whoever wins the December 2024 presidential election.
“The President has given me a marching order, and the order is to ensure that this year’s elections, before, during and after goes on peacefully, and that, by the grace of God, I shall do”, Mr Quartey stated while speaking to journalists on Wednesday.
His statement was in response to concerns by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), that the NPP was not ready to hand over power.
To the NDC, they are convinced that the party will be re-elected into office in December and has expressed concerns about recent comments made by President Akufo-Addo, which to them, was a sign that President Akufo-Addo was not ready to handover power.
Addressing some NPP supporters in Doboro in the Greater Accra Region, following a visit to the premises of Blue Skies Limited last week, President Akufo-Addo said: “When the time is up for the voting, our job is simple. The person [John Mahama] I defeated [in 2016 and 2020 presidential elections], my work since I took over, seems not to please him. I cannot hand over power to such a person. He will destroy whatever we have done when he comes”.
Reacting, the Interior Minister, Mr Henry Quartey noted that regardless of the election outcome, the NPP remained devoted to upholding democratic norms and facilitating a peaceful transfer of power.
“What will profit us, as a political party, if we encourage violence. Who are we going to serve in this country? Are we going to serve the people who are dead and buried?”, he questioned
He expressed hope for another mandate based on the party’s achievements but affirmed readiness for a peaceful handover if the people decide otherwise.
“As a politician, as a political party, it is our hope, it is our wish, it is our belief that by the grace of God, the good people of this country, per the good work that we have done in infrastructure and in other interventions, they will give us another mandate.
“Perish the thought, and I say again, perish the thought, if they [voters] decide to give their mandate to somebody, we will handover peacefully and walk away, go to the drawing board and come back Insha Allah. But I know that the grace of God abounds and so we shall break the 8,” he said.
Source: GraphicOnline
