The Director of Elections for the opposition National Democratic Congress, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, has lauded the measures outlined to manage security going into Ghana’s general elections on December 7, 2024.
In a Facebook post following an engagement with the various political parties by service commanders of the nation’s security forces, Dr. Omane Boamah disclosed that the position of the IGP as the head of the National Election Security Task Force is affirmed and critical to the sanctity of the electoral process.
He emphasized that, among other things, it has been outlined that the IGP will be the sole decider of when and how the military will be deployed in the elections.
“As was made clear at the meeting, the Inspector General of Police is the sole Commander-in-Chief of the National Elections Security Task Force.
“This being the case, only Police, Immigration, Prisons, Customs, and Fire Service personnel (“without lethal weapons”) will be providing security at the polling stations during the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections.
“And should there be the need for any military intervention, it is only the Inspector General of Police, acting as the Commander-in-Chief of the Elections Security Task Force, who can authorize military action,” he stated.
Ahead of the December polls, there have been several calls against military deployment during the election.
The Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, addressing the meeting on Thursday, assured stakeholders of the commitment of the police and other security agencies to lead an incident-free election and also called for their cooperation in the discharge of their duties.