Opposition voices must not be silenced — Andrew Egyapa Mercer

Andrew Egyapa Mercer, the former Member of Parliament for Sekondi, has accused the government of using arrests and denial of bail to intimidate opposition supporters, especially members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

During an interview today, May 23, 2026,  Mercer said the NPP does not support insults in politics, but believes the government is reacting too harshly to controversial comments made by opposition supporters.

“Speaking for myself and the NPP, I dare say we do not subscribe to insults in our body politic,” he said.

“I certainly do not think that as political actors we need to advance our political arguments based on insults.”

However, he argued that people accused of minor offences under Sections 207 and 208 of the Criminal Offences Act should not be arrested and denied bail while investigations continue.

“If somebody is accused of breaching Section 208 or 207, we do not think that denying that person bail is the way to go,” he stated.

“Nobody is saying do not investigate, but why do you have to arrest and detain somebody who has committed a misdemeanour?”

Mercer claimed there is a growing pattern of state institutions being used against opposition members.

“If you look at the trend of arrests, it clearly demonstrates that the NDC has set out to weaponise state institutions against actors within the NPP,” he claimed.

According to him, supporters of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) also make offensive comments online but are not treated the same way.

“People who belong to their stock are also on social media saying all sorts of things that are, if not the same, clearly equal to what they accuse and arrest NPP people of doing,” he said.

He also alleged that denial of bail is now being used as a political strategy against opposition supporters.

“Clearly, they are using bail as a target, or denial of bail as a target, against NPP supporters,” he said, describing it as “a growing pattern of intimidation”.

Mercer warned that such actions could damage Ghana’s democratic image if they continue.

“It is important that as a country that belongs to the global community, we bring to the attention of the entire country and the international community these acts, which clearly do not serve the stability of our democracy,” he stated.

The former Tourism Minister also referred to past debates about free speech and the criminal libel law during the time of former President Jerry John Rawlings.

“We have come a long way as a country. From the days of the criminal libel law during the Rawlings era, we know what these laws were used for stifling free speech,” he said.

Mercer noted that former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo repealed the criminal libel law after coming into office because many Ghanaians wanted it removed.

He admitted that some arrests also happened during the Akufo-Addo administration, but said the current government had criticised those actions while in opposition and promised to do better.

“They promised the people of Ghana that, ‘Vote for us, and these things that President Akufo-Addo was doing, when we come into government, we will ensure that these things become a thing of the past,’” he said.

According to Mercer, only “seven or eight people” were arrested under similar laws during the eight years of the Akufo Addo government, compared to nearly 16 arrests within 16 months under the current administration.

Mercer said Ghanaians expect governments to behave differently once they come into power, especially after criticising the same actions while in opposition.

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