The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, has warned of the imminent crackdown on persons and groups who are contemplating fomenting trouble to disrupt the peace of the country during this year’s general election.

He stressed that although the police would be highly professional in providing security for all Ghanaians throughout the election process, it would not hesitate to deal swiftly with troublemakers within the confines of the law.

“We will not allow anybody or group to ride on their personal interest to disrupt the peace of the country and affect the masses,” he stressed.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic after a crunch meeting with the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Mensa, yesterday, the IGP emphasised that “anyone who thinks they can cause problems should be ready because we will not allow it.”

“We will be unflinching in our resolve to maintain election security; where we need to be soft, we will do so and where we need to act tough, we will do so in the interest of Ghana,” he stressed.

Meeting

The meeting between the EC and the IGP was meant to fashion security arrangements for the conduct of the December 7 polls. It was also meant to review the performance of the election security taskforce in the activities of the EC and strategise for the task ahead. 

Assurance 

The IGP said the police and other security agencies were prepared to collaborate with the EC to deliver peaceful elections “in the patriotic interest of the country.” He said the police would leverage the useful lessons learnt from the voter registration and transfer process to ensure peace and order during the December 7 polls.

Dr Dampare said the police were aware of their pivotal role in the electoral process, and would discharge that responsibility to help consolidate the country’s democracy. He said the period when people caused trouble during elections and got away with it was over because the police would ensure that all such culprits were dealt with according to the law.

“Look at all the by-elections that have happened recently, the voter registration and transfer exercises. All persons involved in electoral violence have been arrested and are facing trial, while others are still being pursued; so we mean business,” he said.  

He urged all stakeholders to prioritise the security of the country by not acting in ways that would disturb the country’s peace in the forthcoming elections.

EC’s commitment

For her part, Mrs Mensa commended the police for living above reproach in providing security for the EC in all its activities, especially the recent voter registration and voter transfer exercises.  

She reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to work closely with the Ghana Police Service and the election security taskforce to build a watertight security regime for this year’s general election scheduled for December 7.

Mrs Mensa said the security agencies had a critical role in maintaining peace and order in the electoral process, for which reason the EC would constantly engage them to ensure that the polls were conducted in an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity.

“I want to make a pledge to the people of this country that we are poised to deliver a credible and transparent election this year. “The Election Security Taskforce will play a key role in ensuring that our activities for the entire electoral process are peaceful, so we will collaborate with them and share plans with them to maintain law and order for the safety of all Ghanaians,” she said.

She said the relatively peaceful and smooth limited voter registration and transfer process that ended recently bore ample testimony to the crucial role of the police in maintaining election security.

“The registration exercise was very successful, and there was no report of anyone who is eligible to register who was denied that opportunity. We could not have done it without the support of the election security taskforce. That is why we will continue to work together for enhanced security,” she said.

Mop-up registration

Mrs Mensa said there would be a three-day mop-up registration exercise from August 1 to August 3 for persons who turned 18 after the recent registration exercise. She also said the exhibition of the voters’ register would be carried out from August 20 to 27 across the various polling stations in the country.

“We still count on the police and the other security agencies to provide the needed support for these activities to be successful,” she added. 

Source: www.graphic.com.gh