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This is not the Ghana Mahama inherited - Gabby

Even where you break the law, the police have absolutely no right to use violence on you. I did not break any law. I was part of the protest and we got to a place where there was a standoff.

This is not the Ghana Mahama inherited - Gabby

A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere Darko, has lashed out at the Ghana Police for manhandling demonstrators who took part in Wednesday’s demonstration to demand the creation of a new voters’ register.

A demonstration by members and supporters of pressure groups, 'Let My Vote Count Alliance', 'Movement for Better Ghana', to drum home the need for a new voters register turned violent, after many people got injured and some were flogged by the police.

The police claimed the demonstrators violated agreements on the approved routes.

But, Mr Gabby Okyere Darko, one of the demonstrators who was allegedly beaten and manhandled by the police said the police acted unprofessionally, since he and the various protestors did not break any law.

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"Even where you break the law, the police have absolutely no right to use violence on you. I did not break any law. I was part of the protest and we got to a place where there was a standoff. That standoff was not violent because the protestors were trying to make a case to the police but the police kept asking them to go back and the next minute they just rushed on the protestors with batons and teargas; that’s really what happened. And I really think that for a democratic country so-called, there is no place for such violence", he said on Accra-based Citi FM.

He further blamed president Mahama for the incident, which he believes is an indictment on Ghana's democracy.

“If this is John Mahama’s Ghana, then that’s not the Ghana he inherited. We were here when in 2008 after the second-round of elections without any police notice; the NDC led by the General Secretary stormed the Electoral Commission. Is that how they were treated when that happened? This can’t be democracy; we can’t say we have a democracy in Ghana if elections can be stolen and when you take steps to clean the electoral process; you are then assaulted and brutalized by police,” he fumed.

Meanwhile, police say over 30 protesters have been arrested and will be processed for court.

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