Former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini
Ghanaians have descended heavily on the Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, for advising former President John Dramani Mahama to declare himself President-elect.
Speaking on a talk show on Pan African TV, he further advised Mr Mahama, who was beaten, for the second time, in the just-ended presidential election by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to form a parallel government.
To the lawmaker, who is also a legal practitioner, that is the best option for the former president, claiming that the NDC 2020 presidential candidate won the polls.
“I have said and I have advocated that he declares himself President and forms a parallel government. And if he is minded to take my views, he should declare himself President and set up a parallel government,” he urged Mr Mahama.
Reactions
The ill-advice of the MP has been condemned by well-meaning Ghanaians.
Meanwhile, a renowned legal practitioner, Professor Kwaku Asare, aka Kwaku Azar, has advised Mr Mahama to be wary of those around him who pretend to be advising him.
“There is no room for forming a parallel government in this country. We operate under a constitution and it provides a clear process for disputing election results.
“Ex-President John Dramani Mahama should ignore the ill-advice of honourable Inusah Fuseini and continue to follow the law. By the same token, it does harm to the Republic when NDC party members refer to His Excellency as President-elect. Only the person certified as winner of the elections is President-elect and in this case it is President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,” he has stated.
Professor H Kwasi Prempeh, Executive Director of Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), for his part, has stated that how the former President carries himself with regard to the happenings of the aftermath of the 2020 election will, to a large extent, determine his presidential ambition beyond 2020.
“So far, his colleagues in his party are not helping him at all by pushing him in non-asomdwoe directions. It can only cost him politically. And his rivals are happily collecting and saving all the video footage.
“He should keep his own counsel. His best bet lies in going to court, that is if he wants to contest the presidential results. If not, and his problem is with the parliamentary results, he would be well advised to let the party and the affected PCs step forward and pursue their legal options with his support,” he said.
The president and founder of IMANI-Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, adding his voice, wrote on his Facebook wall, “Hon. Inusah Fuseini! You are very wrong! Your advice to JM to run a parallel government is absurd! JM must do no such thing.”
Rodney Nkrumah-Boateng, of the Ministry of Education, also took a swipe at Mr Fuseini.
“Parallel government? For the where? And this lawlessness is advocated by a lawyer who is also a lawmaker?” he wondered.
Contested election results
Mr Mahama had described as “fraudulent” the results of the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections help on December 7, 2020.
This was after the Electoral Commission, on Wednesday, had declared President Akufo-Addo as the winner with 51.59 per cent of the votes cast, with Mr Mahama securing 47.36 per cent.
But Mahama rejected those numbers.
“I stand before you tonight unwilling to accept the fictionalised results of a flawed election. We will take all legitimate steps to reverse this tragedy of justice,” he told a news conference.
He had claimed that “numerous steps have been taken to manipulate the results of the election in favour of the incumbent.”
In a victory speech to supporters Wednesday, President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo said it was time “irrespective of political affiliations, to unite, join hands and stand shoulder to shoulder.”
“The Ghanaian people through the results have made it loud and clear that the two parties, the NPP and NDC, must work together, especially in Parliament, for the good of the country.
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