IGP promises ECOWAS elections delegation that the police will play a part in peaceful elections.

An ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) post-election follow-up team has received assurances from the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, and members of the Police Management Board (POMAB) that the police will play their part in ensuring free and fair elections.

The West African Election Management Bodies (EMBs) are all governed by ECONEC.

The team, which is on a four-day post-election visit to Ghana, is comprised of the ECONEC Permanent Secretary, a technical team from the Permanent Secretariat, and the chairs of the electoral administration organizations of Nigeria and Niger. IGP

The team has been evaluating the degree of execution of the recommendations provided by the ECOWAS and AU Electoral Observation Missions (EOMs) that watched the December 2020 general election in Ghana since its arrival there on July 10, 2023. IGP

It had previously held working meetings with a number of election process participants, including the Ghana Journalists Association, the Inter-Party Advisory Committee, civil society organizations, and the election Commission.

The team met with the head of the Ghana Police Service, a significant participant in the nation’s electoral process, yesterday.

Following the meeting, the team was given a tour of the police headquarters while Dr. Dampare gave them an overview of how the Ghana Police Service operated and how it was prepared to serve the public.

The IGP briefed the team on the security measures put in place for the approaching 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, as well as other elections like those held within political parties and in schools, to guarantee a peaceful process. IGP

In order to handle election procedures and election-related difficulties, he said that the Police Administration had established the Police Election Security Secretariat Unit.

He claimed that prior to the creation of the unit, the National Election Security Task Force only met on an as-needed basis to conduct preparations for upcoming national elections, but it was soon realized that this method was ineffective.

In addition, he added, the Police Administration kept in touch with the Executive Council (EC), all the political parties, and the heads of Students’ Representative Councils (SRCs) at the various institutions in order to facilitate the staging of student leadership elections and internal political party elections.

Dr. Dampare said that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Ghana’s two major political parties, had written to the police praising them for the remarkable security measures. IGP

Social media review

The IGP informed the team that the police had also implemented mechanisms to allow it to monitor social media comments in order to stop the spread of divisive remarks.

Investigators and legal teams looked over statements made, notably by rival political parties, as one of the processes put in place.

He claimed that in response to these evaluations, the police vigorously investigate any illegal activity while also stepping up their public education campaigns to quell rumors of fake news.

He stated that the police would continue to interact with all parties, including the EC, political parties, members of civil society, and the general public.

Commendation

The team was full of praise for the Ghana Police Service after the police were explained to how the Police Administration had declared the Assin North Constituency and the Kumawu Constituency weapon-free zones during the recent by-elections. The team stated that it had observed that the two by-elections were violence-free and had therefore commended the police for their work.

It further claimed that, unlike in other jurisdictions, it has seen no election-related violence against women.

Issaka Souna, the delegation’s leader, told the Daily Graphic that the visit to the Ghana Police Service was made with a specific recommendation regarding the 2019 vigilantism and other related offenses during the by-election in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency in mind.

Additionally, it was conducted to assess the Ghana Police Service’s readiness for the presidential and legislative elections in 2024 in terms of election security.

They said that the Police Administration had given adequate information regarding the progress made in putting the specific recommendation on the 2019 vigilantism in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency into practice.

According to the report, the mission met with the interior minister and urged the ministry to keep providing the Ghana Police Service with the resources it needs for even better service delivery.

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