The election team of the National Democratic Congress’ for John Dramani Mahama, has accused the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) of acting as an agent of the ruling New Patriotic Party and allegedly manipulating the electoral process to favour the party’s agenda.
Reacting to an earlier announcement by the IEA to organise a presidential and vice-presidential debate between the two parties, the NPP and the NDC, the campaign’s spokesperson, Joyce Bawah Mogtari , said in a statement, that there is no provision in Ghana’s constitution that gives the IEA the power to conduct election-related matters or organise activities.
Joyce Bawa said the IEA’s decision to make such an announcement without any dialogue or consultation with the NDC was “unacceptable.”.
“It is totally unacceptable that the IEA would make such an announcement without any dialogue or notice to the National Democratic Congress, one of the largest political parties in Ghana.
“The Constitution of Ghana does not empower the IEA to organise election-related activities. The fact that the IEA did not show the decency or respect to at least inform the NDC of its plans raises serious questions about its motives.
“The IEA is clearly acting as a front organisation for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and is attempting to manipulate the electoral process in favour of the ruling party,” the statement said.
The statement denied the need for a presidential debate and emphasised that the party interacts extensively with people across the country.
The research team, however, warned the IEA not to use the NDC’s name in an apparent attempt to promote the activities of the NDC.
“It is important to remind the IEA and the Ghanaian people that the NDC has been in dialogue with the public for many years, under the leadership of our presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama and his running mate, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang. Mahama’s online and offline conversations targeted a wide audience and focused on the needs and concerns of Ghanaians.
“His well-planned engagements with various sectors of society across the country have been and will continue to be of great benefit to the Ghanaian people. In this case, we warn the IEA not to use the name of the NDC to promote its activities. This is a blatant attempt to deliberately misrepresent our party,” the statement said.
