The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has debunked claims of relocating gadgets to the Volta Region with the intent of intimidating people in the Region.
Discrediting the assertions, a statement signed by Public Relations Director of GAF, Colonel E. Aggrey Quashie, revealed that, Armed Forces deployment is in support of the Ghana Police Service.
GAF further distanced itself from a purported statement from a group known as “Concerned Officers of the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service” which alleged a grand scheme by the military to make use of vigilantes to cause disruptions in the electoral process.
The statement issued, follows the circulation of social media audio alleging that the security agency intends to intimidate residents.
“The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) finds it necessary to respond to two messages on social media which impinge on its professional integrity. One is an audio recording and the other a written statement. They both make unfounded commentaries on the GAF which need to be corrected. The audio recording by an unidentified male voice, alleges the re-location of “gadgets” from Accra to Ho with the aim of intimidating the people of the Volta and Oti Regions in collaboration with a neighboring country.
“The fact of the matter is that the GAF has deployed to all the Regions of Ghana in connection with the 2020 General Elections. The deployment is in support of the Ghana Police Service and this is standard practice. There is no other motive”.
Addressing another issue of concern, the statement posited that, a second is a statement by a purported “Concerned Officers of the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service”, also offered another truckload of falsehood.
The statement issued, follows the circulation of social media audio alleging that the security agency intends to intimidate residents.
“This piece is a catalogue of falsehood and fabrications with no scintilla of truth in them. Among the allegations are that vigilantes are embedded in the GAF and that there is a planned “coordinated ground offensive” from the eastern border on the night of 6th December. This might either be an orchestration or a planted story to cause alarm among the local population.”
Authorities have therefore urged all ranks of the service to be diligent in their duties to ensure credible and transparent polls as the deployment of the security agents is part of their mandate.
“All Ranks of the GAF are hereby implored to go about their duties with their usual focus and determination, to ensure the success of the elections. The general public must also feel free to cast their ballots when the polls open on 7 December 2020”.
Meanwhile, the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has deployed more than 4,000 observers for the general elections.
Sheihk Aremeyaw Shaibu, the acting Chair of CODEO, further disclosed that other stationary observers will be deployed as Regional Coordinators, Constituency Supervisors (CS), its General Assembly and Board Members as Roaming/Mobile Observers (ROs) in all the 16 regions.
The total number of CODEO’s 4000 observers will be deployed as Rapid Response Observers (RROs) to a representative sample of polling stations located in all the 275 constituencies across the 16 regions of the country.
“Out of this number, 1,502 are deployed as Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) Observers. CODEO will deploy its observers to all the 275 Constituency Collation Centres and the National Results Collation Center (NRCC) in Accra to observe and report on results collation, tabulation, and declaration”.
