The Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) is contemplating mobilizing organized labour to report President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his failure and complicity in the Election 2020 violence that claimed the lives of some eight Ghanaians.
“We will also include the act of violence during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election, which led to grievous bodily injuries caused to some members of the electorate, and the failure of the President to act on a commission of inquiry he set up,” Mr. Abraham Koomson, GFL Secretary General, stated in a statement issued on Monday in Tema.
“The President and his Vice President, Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, are complicit in the electoral violence and must be held accountable,” Mr Koomson stated.
The GFL argues that President Akufo-Addo and Veep Bawumia’s failure to take concrete actions to prevent and address the violence, despite their pledge to ensure peaceful Presidential and Parliamentary elections, constitutes a breach of their constitutional duties and international human rights obligations.
“We cannot sit back and watch as our citizens are brutalized and killed in the very process meant to choose their leaders. The evils of the 2020 elections cannot be swept under the rug as we face another election. We will mobilize organized labour and report the President to the ICC for his failure to act,” said Mr. Koomson.
The election 2020 violence and the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency bye-elections resulted in injuries, fatalities, and widespread destruction of properties.
Mr. Koomson noted that despite numerous calls for investigations and accountability, the President has failed to take decisive action to address the situation.
The GFL’s threat comes on the heels of the release of a damning report by the Commission of Inquiry into the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence, which implicated top government officials and security personnel in the violence.
The ICC has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for crimes against humanity, including violence and murder. If the GFL goes ahead with its threat, it will be a groundbreaking move that could set a precedent for holding leaders accountable for election-related violence.
As the situation unfolds, Ghanaians are watching with bated breath, hoping that the GFL’s move will finally prompt the President to take action to address the violence and ensure accountability for those responsible.
The GFL’s Secretary General emphasized that the reporting of President Akufo-Addo to the ICC is not a political move but a necessary step to ensure justice and accountability for the victims of the election violence.
“We are not motivated by politics but by a desire to see justice served,” but our desire to ensure that Ghana continues to enjoy peace and stability before, during, and after elections and so is of the view that this situation left unchecked would undermine the nation’s hard-earned democracy on the African continent,” Mr. Koomson stated.
Mr. Koomson said the failure of the president to act on these acts of violence during previous elections must be a concern to all Ghanaians. It demonstrates the failure of the NPP leadership to protect all Ghanaians irrespective of political, social, tribal, religious, and other persuasions.
“Elections 2024 therefore offer Ghanaians the opportunity to vote out the NPP as they have failed the people of Ghana,” Mr. Koomson concluded.
Source: modernghana.com
