The Electoral Commission (EC) has described the forthcoming December 7 elections as a crucial one, committing therefore to deliver credible and transparent polls whose results would be accepted by all.
The Commissioner, Mrs Jean Mensa, said the EC was mindful of the peculiarity of this year’s elections and would do all within its power to sustain the peace the country currently enjoys.
“This is a crucial elections and different from all others. We have the two leading candidates from the same region. One has been a president before, one is sitting Vice President so the dynamics are very different.
“We are mindful of this as a Commission and committed to ensuring that the elections are peaceful before, during and after,” she stated.
Mrs Jean Mensa was speaking at a courtesy call on her by the top echelon of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) ahead of the general elections.
The meeting was to strengthen collaboration between both institutions going into the poll as well as map out strategies to guarantee a peaceful, free and fair election.
Commending the Police for its role in ensuring smooth elections over the years, Mrs Mensa noted that the recent bye-elections gave the Commission a sneak peek into the pending elections.
“We are counting on you to ensure that when the voters register is opened we do not have minors registering, that the lives and property of EC officials are protected, that law and order is maintained at the centres and that the lives of citizens are protected.”
The Commissioner further called on the Police to ensure the quick prosecution of election offenders to maintain confidence in the electoral process and sustain democracy.
She assured the citizenry and all key stakeholders in the electoral process of timely release of information and quick response to concerns that may arise.
“We are confident that through strong partnership like this, we will have a credible, peaceful and transparent election.
The Inspector General of the GPS, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, in a remark said the visit was premised on a new direction of the Service to view election management as a process and not an event.
In view of that, he said the Service has rolled out an election security management strategy over the past year to ensure a peaceful process towards the December 2024 exercise.
“Elections begin from when one ends and in moving away from seeing it as an event where we prepare three months ahead, we together with sister security agencies, are approaching this year’s elections with a process mindset to ensure that we sustain peace before, during and after.
We are here to listen to your concerns and incorporate into our security strategy as we work with multilateral stakeholders to deliver a secured and peaceful elections,” he stated.
By Abigail Annoh
