NPP has the right to demonstrate – Prof Attafuah

Lawyer and Criminologist, Professor Ken Attafuah has called on the National Democratic Congress to desist from hindering the New Patriotic Party from carrying out any planned demonstrations because the act only represents an expression of free speech and the liberties of an individual.

According to him, “It is in the interest of those who have been declared as victors to allow the demonstration to take place peacefully and also to allow the legal challenge. It is in the interest of those who have been declared victors to at the end of the day have the legal process determine the merit of the claim of those who feel aggrieved.”

Prof. Attafuah said “going on demonstration is an expression of the freedom of expression of the individual and I think that for citizens who feel aggrieved, it is part of free speech or liberties of the individual; and I think that citizens who feel aggrieved by the decision of the constitutional body such as the Electoral Commission have a right to so demonstrate within the confines of the law.”

Professor Attafuah’s comments follows the mass gathering of supporters of the leading opposition party Accra to register their discontent about the results of the December 7 polls.

According to him, though people have “the right to demonstrate, it is also important to note that the demonstrators must also respect the right of other persons to move around freely so that the mobility of other persons cannot be unreasonable impaired by the decision of other persons to go on demonstrations.”

In his opinion it was important for members of the winning party, to stay calm because the had “nothing to worry about at all. In this case I think that the Electoral commission have made a decision. It has concluded that party A won and party B,C,D and F lost. If one of these that lost decide that based on the evidence before the decision of the Electoral Commission, the electoral management body was unjust or lacking in integrity or for any reason whatsoever based on evidence, they find it unacceptable; they have every right to demonstrate and those who have been declared victors do not have a right to confront those who are aggrieved and are exercising their democratic right.”

“Anything less than that is undemocratic and unpatriotic.”
 
Source: Citifmonline