Hold party leaders liable for electoral violence—PPP

The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has stated that leaders who profit from electoral violence must be held liable for acts of their hirelings.

“To find a lasting solution to election-related violence in our country, our advocacy must now be aimed at having leaders of sponsoring political parties held vicariously liable for any violence their hirelings unleash on the citizenry,” it noted.

In a statement signed and issued by the National Chairman of the PPP, Nii Allotey Brew-Hammond said, “We are absolutely convinced it is the desire to win elections by hook or crook that leads to the forming or hiring of the services of vigilante groups to perpetuate election-related violence, we continue to see in the country.

It is as a result of a directive from the President to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to present to parliament a bill to be passed into law outlawing party militarism.

“We must not allow political leaders who win elections through violence, to get away unpunished, we should have outcomes of such elections annulled and the beneficiaries disqualified from contesting future elections to serve as a deterrent.

“We want the existing laws, which criminalises those who benefit from electoral violence, to be enforced, under section 20(1) of the Representation of the People Law, 1992 (PNDCL 284), the election of a candidate should be declared void on an election petition if a high court is satisfied.

“Bribery, beating, intimidation, harassment, other misconduct or circumstances, whether similar to those specified in the law or not, have extensively prevailed that they have reasonably affected the result of elections.

“The party proposed amendments to appointing processes of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Electoral Commission (EC) can stem the tide of violence in our politics, the President, instead of appointing, should nominate them for two-thirds majority approval by Parliament.

“That way, he or she becomes everyone’s IGP and EC not the President’s IGP and EC,
 while we consider the processes of appointment for the future, the EC, as the election management body, should work to come off the perception held by some stakeholders it is working in the interest of the party in power,” the statement said. –myjoyonline.com