As the Electoral Commission (EC) gets ready to continue collating results for the unaccounted-for constituencies from the December 7 elections, the National Election Security Task Force has announced the deployment of military forces to help the police secure collation centers.
This decision comes after the EC criticized the task force for allegedly not providing enough protection in the early phases of the collation process, which resulted in the exercise being suspended.
ACP Grace Ansah-Akrofi, the Ghana Police Service’s Director of Public Affairs and the election security task force’s spokesperson, stressed the task force’s dedication to upholding order at the collation centers during a press briefing on Friday, December 20.
Political actors were cautioned by ACP Ansah-Akrofi not to encourage their followers to congregate at these sites, since this could escalate tensions and compromise the process’s integrity.
She gave the people her word that the combined police-military presence would establish a secure setting in which the EC could carry out its duties without interference.
“The Task Force has assured the Electoral Commission of its readiness to provide the necessary security for the outstanding collation exercises. Only individuals accredited by the Commission will be allowed access to the collation centres, and any non-accredited persons will not be permitted at these locations,” ACP Ansah-Akrofi said.
She also urged stakeholders to cooperate with security personnel in the interest of peace and democracy.
“We have put Ghana’s peace and security first throughout this election period, and we will continue to do so in this critical post-election phase,” she added.
The task force’s resolve to protect the collation process and preserve the ideals of a free, fair, and peaceful election process is demonstrated by this deployment.
