Your right to protest not a blank cheque for violence - Sosu to NDC supporters
- Lawyer Francis-Xavier Sosu has cautioned supporters of the NDC against resorting to violence during their protest
- The supporters have been on a nationwide protest over what they say is rigged elections
- Twenty-six of them were arrested and granted bail days earlier for clashing with security officials at the EC headquarters in Accra
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The Member of Parliament-elect for the Madina constituency in Accra, Francis-Xavier Sosu, has slammed supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for resorting to violence in their protest against the results of the 2020 polls.
Ghanaians on Monday, December 7, 2020, went to the polls to elect a new president and some 275 Members of Parliament.
Over 13 million voters took part in the exercise that re-elected incumbent, President Nana Akufo-Addo, for another four-year term. He beat his arch-rival, former President John Dramani Mahama of the NDC.
Mahama and the NDC rejected the outcome of the election, alleging that the verdict was “stolen.”
Supporters of the party have since the declaration of the results been organising a nationwide protest. They have occasionally clashed with security officers.
In one instance, 26 supporters of the NDC were arrested and granted bail for their involvement in a violent protest at the headquarters of the EC in Accra on Thursday, December 17, 2020.
Wielding placards with various inscriptions, and chanting ‘no Mahama, no peace’ in red and black attire, they burnt car tyres, pelted stones, and caused heavy vehicular traffic.
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Commenting on the development, the global human rights activist and lawyer said he was against the vandalism and violence associated with the nationwide protests by the NDC supporters.
Speaking in a recent interview on Accra-based CTV, Sosu stressed that the NDC will never sanction any such violence or any illegal means of protesting.
“I’m advising my party comrades that the constitutional right to protest is not a blank cheque for anything at all, including violence,” cautioned.
“The constitutional right to protest also implies an obligation to respect the rights of other people while protesting and also making sure that your protest is peaceful,” he added.
In other news, YEN.com.gh reported about the heartrending story of Fuseini Yusuf. The 51-year-old visually impaired is the father of five children between the ages 5 and 13. The children are suffering from speech and mental disorders, according to a Starr News report.
The resident of Akyem New Tafo in the Abuakwa North Municipality of the Eastern Region like a lot of visually impaired Ghanaians begs for survival. Before he steps out every morning, Fuseini chains the children to keep them away from trouble and have the peace of mind to concentrate on his trade as a beggar.
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Source: YEN.com.gh