By Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Thousands of supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) led by national executives poured into the streets to protest against the Electoral Commission.
The NDC’s demonstration dubbed “Enough is Enough” was simultaneously carried out in all 16 regional capitals in Ghana.
The Greater Accra demonstration which was led by the party’s National Chairman saw most protesters carrying placards with various inscriptions like; “We want an independent audit”, “The Peace Council must speak up now” among others all in an attempt to show their displeasure with managers of the electoral management body as well as to call for an audit of the voter register ahead of the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections.
National Chairman of the opposition NDC, Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketia, addressing protesters and the media at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra to officially to kick start the nationwide demonstration asserted that the NDC would not retreat nor surrender untill the right thing is done by the EC to safeguard the sanctity of the December 7 polls.
Mr Asiedu popularly known in the political circles as General Mosquito explained that the action taken by the NDC to demonstrate is aimed at preventing war as a rrsult of the conduct of the commissioners at EC and government.
According to him, Ghana’s democracy is at risk. Saying there is a need for the current generation and all well-meaning citizens to get involved in the fight for its restoration in memory of the forebears of the nation.
The NDC National Chairman also hinted that, the party would hold district and constituency levels protests against the EC if no immediate action is taken.
The ‘Enough is Enough Demo’ is geared towards mounting excessive pressure on the commissioners who have become so adamant about the current happenings to initiative processes for a forensic audit of the voter register which the NDC is convinced is fraught with several discrepancies and irregularities which the party believes has the tendency of compromising the integrity of the December 7 polls if not corrected.
Kumasi protest turned chaotic
The Ashanti regional edition of the NDC protest was marred by some misunderstanding between police officers and protesters where the police were said to have fire teargas and injured two people.
The protest which was designed to be peaceful turned dramatic and erupted into chaos as police deployed teargas to disperse NDC supporters who clashed with law enforcement officers during the ‘Enough is Enough’ demonstration.
The protest, organized by the NDC, escalated into violence when tensions flared between the demonstrators and the police.
While the exact cause of the confrontation remains unclear, one protester sustained injuries and was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
In the heat of the moment, some protesters attempted to attack a police officer who sought refuge in a nearby house. Another officer was also injured after being assaulted by protesters.
