Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, the Majority Leader in Parliament has called on security agencies to maintain a tight grip on security during their operations in identified hotspots nationwide ahead of the December elections.
According to the Member of Parliament for Suame, there has been a growing sense of worry over some pockets of disruptions in the country.
He further intimated that, increasing cases of armed robberies, the murder of the Mfansteman MP, Ekow Hayford, activities of secessionist groups in the Volta Region and threats from neighboring countries are ample reasons for the security agencies to gear up before the polls.
“We want all flashpoints to be adequately monitored as the various political parties intensify their campaign in a bid to secure peace in the December elections”.
The legislator, who was speaking at a forum organised by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs under the theme: “2020 elections and its implications for peace and security in Ghana”, emphasized on the relevance of peace and the role of the security agencies in safeguarding it.
“Security during election means protecting stakeholders such as officials, candidates, polling station workers, media and observers.
“It also means protecting electoral information such as poll results and data and campaign materials and everyone against death, destruction, damage, obstruction, and other impediments”.
Present at the forum, was the Ranking Member on the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Inusah Fuseini, who requested for the utmost display of professionalism from the security agencies in the run up to the 2020 polls.
In his words, the demeanor of security officers will be fundamental in guaranteeing a violent free outcome during the polls.
“We also hope that personnel put the purpose for which they were sent to polling stations ahead of every decision and move they will make. This will work towards ensuring transparent, fair, free, peaceful, and credible elections”.
The Ghana Police Service on October 23, 2020, identified a number of areas where chaos is likely to erupt ahead of the December 7, elections.
The vicinities were categorized into key flashpoints with the Ashanti Region topping with the most districts prone to violence.
The National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons had already indicated the relevance of alertness in the country’s overall approach going into the election to ensure that acts of violence are reduced to the barest minimum.
As a result, they want these flashpoints to be adequately monitored as various political parties intensify their campaigns in a bid to secure victory in December presidential and parliamentary elections.
However, the Ghana Police Service has furnished the National Election Security Taskforce with the details of these 4,098 flashpoints to guide its tactical arrangements and deployments across the country’s 16 regions.
