The Executive Director of the Centre for Public Opinion and Awareness (CenPOA), Michael Donyinah Mensah, has described the upcoming Akwatia by-election as a decisive test of Ghana’s determination to end electoral violence.
He argued that the contest would serve as a measure of whether the country’s political actors and security institutions are committed to addressing recurring incidents of hooliganism during polls.
Mr. Donyinah Mensah welcomed the efforts of the Ghana Police Service to increase security deployment in the constituency but stressed that this alone does not guarantee a trouble-free exercise.
“I cannot be confident that there will be no trouble in Akwatia, but then it is a test case. We heard of Ayawaso and Ablekuma North, and how the politicians kept blaming each other.
“Remember, we are having these just because the politicians are refusing to be disciplined. The electoral laws cover how elections are run, even two 2-hours before elections, and others. But you have the politicians creating the problem, and you expect the police to come solve it”
Michael Donyinah Mensah, Executive Director of CenPOA
He observed that the credibility of the Akwatia By-election will once largely depend on the conduct of political leaders, and how best they demonstrate maturity and respect for the rules of engagement when tensions are high. The CenPOA Director highlighted the burden placed on the security services as a result of political misconduct.
“Imagine having to send 5500 police personnel to Akwatia with a voter population of just about 2,000,” he remarked, describing the decision to deploy thousands of officers to an area with only a few thousand voters as evidence of the distortion created by lawlessness.
According to him, the by-election will ultimately demonstrate whether politicians on either side of Ghana’s two major political parties are willing to put an end to the cycle of confrontation and mistrust. “If they really want to end hooliganism during elections, then this is it – time for us to see if politicians are really learning a lesson,” he stressed.
NPP Raises Alarm Over Masked Officers
While CenPOA focused on the political responsibility to ensure peace, the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) expressed concerns about security operations in the constituency.
The party’s National Youth Organiser, Salam Mustapha, warned that any police officer deployed without proper identification would not be recognised by the NPP. He alleged that the party had picked up intelligence about a plot by individuals from the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions to disguise themselves in police uniforms and carry out unlawful acts during the polls.
“Security goes beyond just men in uniform and all that. I have had cause to put out today some of the things we are picking up that we think the police should be on top of their brief”
Salam Mustapha, NPP National Youth Organiser
He insisted that genuine officers must wear name tags and avoid any form of concealment that could undermine trust in the security arrangements.
“In our meeting with the police, we did indicate to them that we want to see the normal police operating standards – So on Tuesday, any masked officer we see, we will count the person as not professional or a proper police person”
Salam Mustapha, NPP National Youth Organiser
The NPP Youth Organiser urged the Ghana Police Service to address these security concerns decisively, saying that public trust in the process depends on their response to the intelligence gathered.
The Akwatia by-election has drawn national interest, with both the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition NPP locked in a fierce contest for the parliamentary seat. With tensions from past elections fresh in memory, observers see the poll as a microcosm of Ghana’s broader struggle to entrench peaceful and credible democratic practices.
For CenPOA, the spotlight is on political leaders to prove they have learned from previous violent episodes. For the NPP, the priority is ensuring that security deployments inspire confidence rather than suspicion.
As Ghanaians await the outcome, the Akwatia constituency has become the stage where the country’s commitment to electoral peace will be put to the test.
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