Mahama wasn't coerced to accept defeat in 2016 - Julius Debrah

He said this claim by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II cannot be true.

According the the Asante monarch, the diplomatic community were worried Ghana might slip down the slope of electoral violence hence the intervention of Manhyia.

He said: “I’m proud that in a quiet and informal way we in Ghana are showing the benefits of the traditional and contemporary cohesion in governance.

However, in a strong rebuttal, Julius Debrah said Mahama took the decision unilaterally. According to him, the decision was to promote the nation’s peace and cohesion as a beacon of democracy.

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“It is public knowledge that President Mahama willingly announced his decision to accept the outcome of the 2016 elections and congratulate Nana Akufo-Addo even before the official results were formally declared by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission,” Mr. Debrah said in a statement issued on Sunday.

But Julius Debrah argued that Mr. Mahama called Nana Akufo-Addo to concede defeat and congratulate him on his own volition.

“On the day President Mahama willingly conceded defeat, he met with then Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah- Arthur, NDC Chairman Kofi Portuphy, General Secretary of the NDC Johnson Asiedu Nketia, together with some high ranking members of the party and informed them of his decision to call and congratulate Nana Akufo-Addo.”

“Following the meeting with the party, he called a number of personalities including President Jerry John Rawlings, President John Agyekum Kufuor, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, National Chief Imam Sheikh Nuhu Sharubutu, Rev. Ernest Agyei of the Ringway Assemblies of God Church and Archbishop Duncan Williams,” Mr. Debrah recounted.