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The Head of the Observation Mission (EOM) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to Ghana, Madame Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, on Saturday 5 December 2020 paid a visit to the headquarters of the Ghana Police Service in Accra.
The meeting was, among other things, to determine the readiness of the country’s security apparatus ahead of Monday’s elections in the West African nation.
Welcoming the EOM delegation to the Ghana Police Headquarters in Accra, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Dr. Samuel Otu-Nyarko, expressed his gratitude to the international community for showing concern for peace and security. Ghana during the upcoming elections.
He informed the EOM delegation that the Ghana Police Service in collaboration with other security services, including the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), the Ghana National Fire Service ( GNFS) and the Ghana Ambulance Service (GAS). they have established a National Joint Operations Center (NJOC) to keep the peace during and after the elections.
Dr. Otu-Nyarko said that the NJOC has so far deployed some 2,137 members of the security service personnel from the Ghana Police Headquarters to 6,178 flash points across the country to prevent any unforeseen events that could endanger the electoral process.
Liberia’s chief of mission and former president, Madame Sirleaf, praised Ghana for having a record of peaceful and successful elections and praised the country’s security service for being proactive in establishing the NJOC in advance of the next elections.
However, he inquired about the nature of NJOC operations on Election Day.
“How will your team be located around the polling stations and will they be armed with heavy ammunition, with tanks?” Mrs. Sirleaf asked. “Clearly, you are prepared, but what could go wrong?”
Dr. Otu-Nyarko explained that generally there will be at least one police personnel armed with a light weapon at each voting station and not in the military. He said the NJOC will not deploy tanks in any polling place as that could intimidate voters.
“We have identified potential threats and we have made forecasts for events in which things can go wrong. Furthermore, with the consultations we have had with stakeholders, we do not expect anything to go wrong, ”added Dr. Otu-Nyarko.
For his part, the ECOWAS Resident Representative in Ghana, Ambassador Baba Gana Wakil, also applauded the Ghanaian security service for their preparation. However, he asked how the NJOC will ensure that excessive surveillance by security services does not deter people from voting.
“We will not be there to intimidate anyone, but to keep the peace and protect the voters,” Dr. Otu-Nyarko replied.
