Addressing journalists in Accra, Rashid insisted that the NDC relied solely on the state’s security apparatus to ensure a peaceful electoral process, and did not see the need to bring in internal security or vigilantes.

“As the Deputy Director of Elections, IT, and Operations for this election, we did not deploy any machomen to any of the polling stations,” he said. “We have full confidence in the state security, so as a party we didn’t even bring our own internal security.”

He emphasised that the NDC’s victory was based on merit and not intimidation. “We won the election on the basis of our track record,” he added.

Rashid further dismissed allegations that the NDC was behind the violent incidents that marred parts of the rerun, suggesting instead that the confusion stemmed from internal wrangling within the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

“You see, these people announced that they were not going to participate in this election. Their General Secretary announced publicly that they were not contesting. Some people defied his orders less than 12 hours to contest the election,” he explained. “Others were using the platform to campaign for their presidential bids. So you know the NPP, the way they beat each other—it was showmanship to demonstrate that if their General Secretary gives an order and you refuse, you get the beatings.”

He added: “You cannot use that one to say that it is the NDC who beat them. Of course, they attacked themselves. Is it the first time the NPP has attacked each other?”

Touching on recent comparisons made between the Ablekuma North incident and the infamous Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election in 2019, Rashid stressed that the two incidents were fundamentally different.

“The Ayawaso one was a state-sponsored attack. The state sponsored the attacks even to the extent that MPs were slapped. Our MP then, now Minister for Communications, Sam Nartey George, was slapped. What did the state do?” he queried. “Today, did you see any state-sponsored attack?”

He acknowledged that there was an isolated incident during the rerun, where a journalist from GHOne TV was assaulted by a police officer, but commended the authorities for their swift response.

“We only saw one incident, and in that one, the state acted swiftly when a journalist was assaulted by the state security agent. They quickly acted and interdicted the officer. The NDC as a political party condemned the action of that state security officer because we respect media men.”

Rashid reiterated that while the NDC supports calls for investigations into any violence that occurred, it is not the party’s mandate to prosecute offenders.

“We don’t have investigative powers. We can advocate for investigations into the incidents, but we don’t have the power to prosecute. That is not within our jurisdiction,” he said.

He concluded by accusing the NPP of attempting to disrupt the integrity of the electoral process. “We are saying that the NPP came into this contest just to mar the beauty of the election. They were not here to contest.”