Election 2024: IGP cautions Ghanaians to be measured in expectations
The Inspector-General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, has cautioned the electorate to be measured in their expectations during the December 7 polls to avoid personal "health injuries" and uneasiness in the country.
Advertisement
"Be measured in your expectations, your actions and inaction. Let's demonstrate maturity, patriotism and love for humanity. Don't allow yourselves to be used by someone's selfish interest. Ghana first," the IGP said.
Dr Dampare was speaking at this year's pre-May Day workers forum on Election 2024: "The role of workers and social partners in securing peaceful elections for national development."
The forum brought together the National Peace Council (NPC), the Electoral Commission (EC) and workers on all fronts.
Advice
"On election day, just show up, cast your ballot and go to sleep. We are ready. We have planned for everything and we are ready for everything," Dr Dampare assured. He said the Ghana Police Service had developed a blueprint for elections, learning from previous elections.
It is under the Police Elections Security Directorate, which has been in existence for the past three years. It caters for pre-election periods, election period and post-election activities to keep the country safe.
This, Dr Dampare said, would be done side by side with traditional policing, which includes keeping the highway safe and tracking of armed robbers. He warned anyone who might want to hide behind the election period to create problems that, "you will be fished out."
The IGP said a lot was being done behind the scenes and that the Service was working with the EC to ensure that nothing untoward happened to the country. "We have our plans and we keep perfecting it and the results will be good.
"With the work that has gone in, I can assure you that this year's elections will be the best," he assured. Unlike previously, the IGP said election operations strategy began immediately the last one ended.
Beyond that, he said the Service was also building its capacities and taking lessons. He welcomed constructive criticism, which, he said, made the police better.
EC
For his part, the Deputy Chairman in charge of Operations, EC, Samuel Tettey, said electoral processes could contribute to peace but if they were badly managed, it could become a conduit for generating violence.
He said it was the reason the EC was complying with the laws of the land to ensure that no one, 18 years and above, was left behind or denied the opportunity to vote. Mr Tettey promised Ghanaians a clean and credible register, excluding foreigners, minors and infiltrators.
He explained the voting processes to the Union workers from the registration period through to the voting day and run-off, if it so happened.
Peace Council
The Executive Secretary of the NPC, George Amoh, called for continuous dialogue guided by the infractions of the 2020 general election. He announced that the council, together with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and Media Foundation for West Africa, developed guidelines against intemperate language during this period.
Mr Amoh said the council had identified 23 hotspots across the country and was working together with the political actors to ensure peace. He said a lot was being done behind the scenes, as well as encouraging a peer review mechanism among all political actors.
He said national and regional response groups had been established to pick up early warning signals for swift action. The response team involves the Ghana Police Service and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
The NPC Executive Secretary announced a post-election programme to keep the peace. They are a healing programme at both the constituency and national levels, and assessing the impact of all the peace pacts.