‘We are Ready to die’ Say Post-Election Protesters in Inflammed Ashaiman

Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region was a scene of massive chaos today as angry post-election protesters chanted “we are ready to die” in protest of what they say is a fraudulent declaration of President Akufo Addo as the winner of the December 7, Presidential elections.

Protestors burnt car tires to prevent vehicular movements as they fearlessly stood their grounds against the heavy police presence.

Videos of the event from Ashaiman show a diverse crowd of pre-teens, women and adult males wielding placards and chanting disapprovingly of the declaration by the Electoral Commissioner, Jean Mensa.

The protestors also kept chanting for the verdict to be overturned in favour of John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), whom the people insist was robbed off his victory at the presidential polls.

Similar protests have been recorded in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, Banda in the Bono Region, Ablekuma Central in the Greater Accra Region, among other flashpoints.

All the protestors are convinced that the December 7, 2020, presidential and parliamentary elections were systematically rigged to favour the candidates of the incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The action of the Electoral Commission (EC) after it made its declarations has not helped the situation. The EC has been caught on more than five occasions, changing the figures it used as a basis to make its declaration for the election.

For instance, less than 24 hours after the EC boss Jean Mensa had made her controversial presidential declaration, the EC issued a statement that hacked off over 300,000 votes from the total valid votes stated by Jean Mensa. The EC claimed she had “inadvertently” announced the total valid votes cast during the election as 13.433 million instead of 13.119 million.

However, even at 13.119, the aggregate of votes for the 12 presidential candidates still does not add up.

The EC is insisting these inconsistent numbers do not change the shape of the election results, but critics have disputed this, saying the election management body had deliberately manipulated the figures to favour the NPP party led by the incumbent President Akufo Addo.