Exercise Restraint And Let The Rule Of Law Prevail � TUC Tells Political Actors

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has entreated all political actors to exercise restraint and allow the rule of law to prevail under the current political dispensation. It said prior to the December 7, 2012 elections the union signalled its intentions to resist any attempts by any group of people to subvert the sovereign will of the people, and �we still stand by this resolve�. The Secretary-General of TUC, Mr Kofi Asamoah, said this at the 17th Ghana Journalists Association�s GJA-TUC Interaction at the Ghana International Press Centre last Friday. He said since the New Patriotic Party (NPP) had signalled its intentions to go to court over the December 7 election results, all sides should respect the decisions of the courts, since that would be a further boost to the country�s democratic credentials. Mr Asamoah said the TUC had already congratulated the President-elect, Mr John Dramani Mahama, adding that the message was based on the fact that by the dictates of the 1992 Constitution, it was only the Electoral Commission (EC) that was mandated to declare the results of elections. �Once the commission has discharged that constitutional duty, our faith in constitutionalism leads us to accept that verdict. Until the declaration of the EC is set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction, we expect that follow-up constitutional processes will be carried through,� he said. He said the TUC had equally commended the NPP for choosing to go to court to have their grievances of alleged electoral malpractices addressed, pointing out that �the commendation is based on our belief that democracy and, indeed, the rule of law does not end with the holding of elections and subsequent declaration of results�. Mr Asamoah said it was the belief of the TUC that the NPP�s decision to go to court to challenge the results of the elections should be seen as part of allowing the constitutional processes to run their course. �Once that option has been chosen we expect all political party activists to refrain from any act of violence that potentially can undermine the peace and stability in the country,� he added.