The Mahama 2024 Campaign has issued a stern warning to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) regarding any attempts to dismantle or obstruct billboards featuring their flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, or the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidates.
The Campaign team reported that the Chief Executive of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) recently removed a billboard of Mr. Mahama, which had been erected by Alliance Media in Tema.
In a statement released on Friday, July 19, the Mahama 2024 Campaign condemned the action as “unacceptable” and described it as a provocative attempt to escalate political tensions in the country.
“Alliance Media, a legally registered Ghanaian advertising company, has the proper authorization to install Out-of-Home (OOH) and Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertisements nationwide. They regularly pay the required annual fees to the TMA and other assemblies. Therefore, the action by the TMA chief executive to dismantle a legally placed billboard, rented and paid for by the Mahama Campaign, is utterly unacceptable,” the statement read.
The Campaign expects Alliance Media to pursue legal action against the TMA for this incident. They also cautioned the TMA chief executive and the NPP that such actions, which provoke political conflicts and violence, harm the country’s democratic progress.
The statement also highlighted a similar incident in the Ablekuma North constituency, where an NDC parliamentary candidate’s billboard was blocked by the NPP. Despite these provocations, the Campaign noted that institutions such as the National Peace Council, as well as religious and civil society organizations, are observing these developments.
The Mahama 2024 Campaign made it clear that such actions would no longer be tolerated, warning that if they persist, their members would be instructed to take necessary measures to prevent such acts across the country.
The Campaign called on the NPP to conduct their campaign peacefully and respect the rights of other parties to advertise their political candidates and messages.
“Violence and destruction of property have no place in our political discourse,” the statement emphasized. “As President Mahama mentioned in an opinion piece on Tuesday, there must be ‘peace and decorum in our political discourse, especially in the run-up to high-stakes elections such as those we face in December this year.'”
