News:
September 3, 2025
Africa Center for Democracy and Socio-Economic Development (CDS-Africa) has condemned threats of violence and intimidation exhibited at the just ended Akwatia by-election pointing out that it has no place in Ghana’s democracy.
First vice chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) Chief Sofo Azoka was heard issuing threat against the Minority leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin declaring that his harm would precipitate a by-election in his constituency.
In a statement, CDS-Africa noted that this disturbing threat came on the heels of a physical assault on the New Patriotic Party (NPP) third vice chairman, Alhaji Osman Masawudu.
“It is an assault on the democratic order we condemn both the threats and the violence; they corrode democratic values subverting the rule of law and debase Ghana’s political culture. Ghana’s criminal and other offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) is unambiguous: section 75 defines threats of death as a second-degree felony, whiles section 74 classifies threats of harm as a misdemeanor. Moreover, the functioning and sanctity of Parliament are explicitly safeguarded under the parliament Act, 1965 (Act 300). To threaten a legislator is not only criminal, it’s an attack on the sovereignty of Parliament itself”.
Equally, the Ghana Police Service, who were present during the altercation, must prove that its mandate is not ceremonial but constitutional. To stand idle in the face of lawlessness is to abet it. The Police must act with urgency: investigate, prosecute, and demonstrate that no political actor — regardless of party or rank — stands above the law.
Democracy flourishes through persuasion, reasoned debate, and respect for the rights of opponents. Threats and violence, by contrast, desecrate the very foundations upon which democratic legitimacy rests. CDS Africa therefore, calls on all political actors and their supporters to exercise restraint, honor due process, and recommit themselves to peace, civility, and the principles of fairness. Ghana’s democracy is too precious to be held hostage by the politics of intimidation.
Ghanamps.com