Expand Short C’ssion scope to cover Atiwa, Telensi – Akufo-Addo petitioned

Two Ghanaian citizens, Eric Nartey Yeboah and Yussif Ibrahim Bangsua, have petitioned President Nana Akufo-Addo to expand the scope of the Emile Short Commission of Inquiry which is currently probing the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election, to cover other by-election violence in the past.

According to the petitioners, the work of the Commission must cover Walensi, Talensi, Akwatia and Atiwa by-elections.

The commission, which has been given a month to finish its work, is chaired by a former Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Justice Emile Short. It has legal expert Prof Henrietta Mensah Bonsu and a former Inspector General of Police, Patrick K. Acheampong, as members with a former Dean of the Faculty of Law of the Ghana Institute of Management and Professional Studies (GIMPA) Dr Ernest Kofi Abotsi as its Secretary.

It has been tasked to get to the bottom of the Wuogon by-election shooting incident by some masked national security operatives at the private residence of the main opposition National Democratic Congress’ candidate during the Thursday, 31 January 2019 by-election.

Below is the full petition:

PETITION FOR THE EXTENSION OF THE SCOPE OF THE TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY SET UP TO INVESTIGATE THE AYAWASO WEST WOUGON BY-ELECTIONS VIOLENCE

1. The undersigned petitioners are respectively private citizens of the Republic Of Ghana who are concerned about all matters of public interest in the country which concern has culminated into the writing of this petition.

2. The petitioners welcome the move by your excellency to appoint a commission of inquiry (herein after called ‘the commsion’ )to investigate the violence that characterized the Ayawaso West Wougon (herein after called AWW) by-elections albeit with concerns.

3. The petitioners say that the work of the commission must bring by-election violence in Ghana to a closure. However, the commission as at stands now would not achieve this fate because its scope of engagement is overly limited.

4. The petitioners further state that, there are four recent by-elections in Ghana that were also characterized by violence and have many victims still suffering effects.

5. The petitioners believe that, the AWW by-election violence was occasioned as a result of the unresolved previous by-elections violence. Therefore to be able to bring by-elections violence in Ghana to a closure, the root of the violence must be traced and uprooted.

6. The petitioners also state that when the commission does not investigate the other by-elections violence and mitigate the pains of the victims of those instances and or bring the perpetrators to book, there would be a clear discrimination and bias against the victims of those by-elections and an endorsement of the wrongful acts of the perpetrators of the violence.

Therefore, the petitioners pray that the following by-elections must be included in the terms of reference of the commission:

7. The 2009 Akwatia by-election in which violence left many innocent citizens injured;

8. The 2010 Atiwa by-election where the violence became so pervasive that a land cruiser was driven through a crowd of ordinary citizens injuring many of them;

9.The 2009 Wulensi by-election in which the violence was so massive that live bullets were fired into a crowd of ordinary citizens injuring many of them;

10. The 2015 Talensi by-election where the violence led several people brutalised.

11. The petitioners respectfully submit that, your excellency extends the terms of reference of the commission to cover the elections stated in paragraphs 7 to 10 above so as to uproot elections violence within the jurisdiction.

PETITIONERS

1. ERIC NARTEY YEBOA – A citizen of Ghana

2. YUSSIF IBRAHIM BANGSUA – A citizen of Ghana

Source: Classfmonline