President John Dramani Mahama has dismissed claims that he is seeking to become a “Supreme Leader,” responding sharply to suggestions that his administration is undermining democratic institutions.
Speaking at his first “Meet the Press” session since taking office eight months ago, Mahama challenged the notion in a direct exchange with Bernard Avle of Citi FM and Channel TV.
Avle questioned the president about recent political developments, including the removal of the Chief Justice through a formal process and ongoing attempts to remove the heads of the Electoral Commission.
He asked if these moves, combined with the ruling party’s commanding two-thirds majority in Parliament, indicated a move to suppress state institutions and concentrate power in the presidency.
In his reply, Mahama said, “Bernard said I’m in danger of becoming a Supreme Leader. Look in my face. Do I look like a Supreme Leader?” He added, paraphrasing the late Professor Mills, “Do I look like a cat hunter? Do I look like a Supreme Leader?”
The president reaffirmed his commitment to democracy, emphasizing that the two-thirds parliamentary majority would not be used to overpower the opposition.
“I’m a Democrat through and through. Even when we attained two-thirds of Parliament, I said that we’re not going to use it to ride roughshod over the minority and that we’re going to give opportunity for democracy to flourish,” Mahama stated.
He reiterated that the overwhelming majority given by Ghanaians was intended to enable governance reforms, not to establish a dictatorship.
“We believe that even though the people of Ghana gave us that overwhelming majority, it wasn’t meant to turn Ghana into a dictatorship. They gave it to us in order that we could carry out reforms to make our governance better,” Mahama said.
The president highlighted the opportunity presented by the two-thirds majority to push forward constitutional amendments that had stalled due to previous hung parliaments.
“In the past, because of hung parliaments and all that, we couldn’t make any progress because there are some of those amendments for which you need an overwhelming majority. So Ghanaians have given us the opportunity to do these things so that we can have a better constitution for future generations,” he explained.
Concluding, Mahama firmly stated, “But I certainly am not on the way to becoming a supreme leader or an autocrat.”
Source: www.Kumasimail/Kwadwo Owusu
