Election 2024: We will only act upon police request - GAF
As Ghana prepares to head to the polls on December 7, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has moved to allay concerns over its potential involvement in the electoral process. In a bid to reassure the public of its neutrality, the GAF has emphasized that its role will be strictly limited to supporting the police, and only when requested.
Speaking during an engagement between the Election Security Taskforce and the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Brigadier General Kweku Dankwa Hagan, head of operations, training, and peacekeeping at the Armed Forces headquarters, stated that the military's involvement will be focused on providing assistance to the police in identified flashpoints and hostile areas.
The general reiterated the military's commitment to ensuring peace and order, while also respecting the primary role of the Ghana Police Service and other security agencies in managing the electoral process.
“We are mindful of the fact that some section of the population is apprehensive of military personnel taking part in the election. I want to clarify that the election is primarily being handled by the Ghana Police Service and other security services under the Ministry of Interior.
“They are the people you will be seeing at over 40,000 polling stations. You will not see military personnel like me at a polling station.
“So please be rest assured that we shall not be there. However, we have identified with the police service and the Electoral Commission about more than 1,000 flashpoints and possible hostile areas, and we are going to have personnel there.
“We will not intervene in anything until the police service has a request or asks us to assist.”
Source: Florence Kyei/ Lead News Online
