Police Battle Readiness To Mitigate Violence On Election Day

NEWS COMMENTARY HIGHLIGHTS POLICE ACTIONS TO MITIGATE VIOLENCE, AS MORE THAN FOUR THOUSAND FLASHPOINTS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AHEAD OF THE DECEMBER 7 GENERAL ELECTION

In 35 days Ghanaians will vote in Presidential and Parliamentary elections. The Ghana Police Service has furnished the National Election Security Taskforce with details of 4,098 flashpoints to guide its tactical arrangement and deployment across the country’s 16 regions. Call them Hot spots or Flash Points, the police describe them technically differently.

The underlying fact is that at a given time, these places have been or could be notorious hubs for electoral violence. Inasmuch as election stake holders such as the National Commission for Civic Education, the Peace Council, the Ghana Journalists Association among others have openly spoken about the need for Political Party Spokespersons to be decorous in their language, some persons often decided to take the law into their hands and perpetrate violence. The underlying fact here is that these perpetrators of electoral violence must be fished out and punished to serve as deterrent to others. Infact, partisanship must give way to a United Ghana, when it comes to criminal Offences.

Addressing a durbar of the chiefs and people of Nangodi in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region as part of his two-day visit in September, President Akufo Addo stated that the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act will bite and not remain on the statute books, saying whoever breached the law will be dealt with accordingly. To quote him;

“It is not going to be a law just on paper; it will be acted upon if anybody tries to breach the law. I have said to the security agencies and the IGP and the top hierarchy of the police that as far as the Vigilantism Law is concerned, I am color blind,” the President stated.

Very well said Mr. President, however, this must be seen not only in words, but indeed. The Ayawaso West Wugon By Election and its related Electoral Violence are still fresh in our minds as recommendations for punishment and compensations to be paid are yet to see the light of day.

It is very critical that as the day’s inch up for Ghanaians to go and cast their ballots, as a fundamental right in the democratic dispensation, it is prudent that citizens feel protected before, during and after. This is why the Inspector General of Police, James Oppong-Boanuh ought to be commended for the pro-activeness exhibited by the Service.

The IGP recently revealed that, during the compilation of the new voter’s register, they identified more flash points in the country that require special attention on election day. He named the additional hotspots as Banda and Nkrankwanta in the Bono Region. And while on a visit in Sunyani to assess the command’s operational preparedness ahead of December 7, Mr. Boanuh gave assurance that security will be beefed up at the hotspots on the day of the polls.

This is indeed a notable move which is not only serving as a morale booster to the police to put up their best foot forward, but it also instills confidence in the people to feel protected. Clearly, the police have exhibited their battle readiness to surmount challenges that may rear their ugly heads during the polls. Already the Tamale Regional Police Command has indicated that it has identified 884 flashpoints among the total of 1,943 polling stations in the Northern Region ahead of the December 7 general election.

We hear a lot more flash points have been discovered, and Odododiodo alone in Greater Accra has 50 hot spots. Odododiodo has become notorious, as one of the political hot beds in the country, and we saw the NDC and NPP clashing over the weekend, causing mayhem leading to the injury of several people. Odododiodo is definitely a must watch Constituency area for the security apparatus on December 7.

It is welcome news that the Ghana Police Service has furnished the National Election Security Taskforce with the details of the 4,098 flashpoints to guide them in tactical arrangement and deployment across the country’s 16 regions during the general election. Also, we have heard the IGP warn that miscreants will not be spared. The message should go loud and clear to those who have the intention to cause mayhem at these flash points on election day to rethink their plans.

BY REBECCA EKPE, a JOURNALIST