Ensuring peaceful polls: Experts call for regular security, political party engagements

Two governance experts and a security analyst have called for regular engagement between the police and political actors to address grievances and concerns as the country inches closer to the December 7 general election.

They also stressed the need to provide adequate security to all parties to prevent the use of private security.

They further called for fairness, transparency and equal treatment of all political party actors in the electioneering process.

That, they said, would deepen the trust in the police ahead of the polls, prevent violence and ensure a peaceful election.

Experts

The security analyst, Dr Festus Kofi Aubyn, and, a governance expert, Dr Kojo Asante, made the call in separate interviews at a round-table meeting on election security for the 2024 polls in Accra last Friday.

Meeting

The event was aimed to discuss security concerns ahead of the December 7, presidential and parliamentary elections brought together key ministries, security agencies, political parties, civil society, and key public institutions.

The meeting was to enhance public trust in the country's election security structures, particularly the election task force through information sharing and dialogue.

It was organised by the Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA) and CDD-Ghana under the auspices of the National Election Response Group (NERG) constituted by the National Peace Council and WANEP funded by the European Union.

Trust

Dr Aubyn, who is also the Regional Coordinator for Research and Capacity Building at the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), said: "There are a lot of security issues going into the election, especially the issue about trust in the security agencies.”

“Especially the issue about trust in the security agencies and also how political parties are trying to resort to the use of vigilantes, now called private security people of the parties to protect the ballot and also to provide their own security,” he said.

“I think it's one of the things that we need to really look at and see how best the police and the various agencies can provide equal security for the political parties to prevent them from using their own means of providing security,” he stated.

Transparency

Dr Kojo Asante, who is also the Director for Policy Engagement and Partnerships, CDD-Ghana, called on the security agencies to work together to strengthen the nation’s security ahead of the elections.

He indicated that it was crucial for all stakeholders and security forces to unite in fortifying the electoral process.

He underscored the significance of transparency in security provision, calling for a clear understanding and equitable allocation of resources to ensure a fair and secure electoral environment.

That, he believed, would improve trust among the electorates.

Security

An Assistant Commissioner of Police, Victoria Yamoah, Director in charge of the Police Election Security Secretariat, gave an assurance that they were poised for action.

“We continue to perfect and to re-examine our deployment so that on the election day, we will be able to provide a very safe and secure environment for the voters to go out and vote, and also we will be able to provide security for Electoral Commission officials, as well as the candidates themselves,” she said.

Military

Major General J. A. Aphour, who represented the Ghana Armed Forces, said the military would not be at the forefront of providing security on election day but they would only get involved when they were called to do so, adding that the provision of security on election day was the sole responsibility of the police.

Small Arms

The Executive Secretary of the National Commission on Small Arms, Sam Williams Yeboah, said their role in ensuring a peaceful, free, and fair election was to prevent and combat the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

To achieve this, he said, the Commission has launched initiatives such as the "Ballots without Bullets" campaign, which focuses on educating the public about the dangers of small arms abuse, particularly during elections.

A former Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, who chaired the function urged key state institutions, especially the security agencies, to be professional in the discharge of their duties to ensure peaceful, free, fair and credible elections.

He also called for a thorough review of past elections to avoid those mistakes in the upcoming elections.

"We must ensure the polls don't destroy Ghana's relative peace and maintain its status as a beacon of hope for democracy in the region," he said.