2012 Elections Will Be Peaceful Despite Insults - Akufo-Addo

The flagbearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo, has stated that despite the politics of insults in Ghana ahead of the December elections, the general polls will be successful and peaceful. Responding to questions from host of BBC�s Hard Talk program, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs revealed it is natural for passionate and harsh language to be used ahead of elections worldwide, but this will not necessarily result in a conflict. Nana Akufo-Addo, who also defended his �all die-be-die� political mantra during the interview stated that the Ghanaian democracy is still in its growing stages hence this type of political discourse could not be avoided. He said his all-die-be-die was in response to a particular set of events that have occurred. �The examples we�ve seen of how elections have been conducted under this administration leaves quite a lot to be desired,� Nana Addo pointed out. �We�ve had two or so by-elections and all of them have been characterised by moments of violence or great tension and there�ve been victims of these violence. Up till today, the President of our country [John Evans Atta Mills] has never expressed any regret or remorse about these events.� Nana Addo added: �The language gets steamy, but I believe at the end of the day when all of us sit down and reflect on what we need to do, we can make sure that the final result is a result that is in the interest of the peace and stability and the progress of our people.�