The National Democratic Congress (NDC) will today January 31, 2020, hold a forum to commemorate the one year anniversary of the Ayawaso by-election violence.
The forum is expected to see former President John Mahama speak on election violence and it’s repercussions.
It will be recalled that on January 31, 2019, there was a by-election held at the Ayawaso West Wuogon when sitting MP Emmanuel Agyarko passed on.
This saw the National Democratic Congress (NDC) present Kwasi Delali Brempong and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) had Lydia Alhassan as his challenger.
READ ALSO: Ayawaso West violence : Gov’t publishes Emile Short Commission report
The election was ongoing until some suspected security personnel fired bullets at the Bawaleshie centre.
This resulted in the injury of some persons who were members of the NDC.
Subsequently, the NDC pulled out of the election but Lydia Alhassan eventually polled 68.80% of the valid vote cast. Her NDC challenger Kwasi Delali Brempong recorded 30.52%.
The NPP were declared winners but this made President Akufo-Addo set up the Emile Short Commission to investigate the incident.
The Commission presented its findings and recommendation to the President in March.
Other events followed, many Ghanaians called for the ban on political vigilantism.
Their calls materialised as Parliament has passed the Vigilantism and Related Offences Bill, 2019 into law.
The purpose of the law is to disband political party vigilante groups and forbid acts of vigilantism in the country, following the continuous violence that has characterised the country’s by-elections.
A leader of a disbanded political party vigilante group who fails to comply with provisions of the law, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a term of imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than 15 years.
READ ALSO: Ayawaso Commission: No masked men for elections again – report
The government in September published the Ayawaso West Wuogon Commission of Inquiry Report and its White Paper.
