The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has expressed pleasure with the Inspector General of Police’s (IGP) instruction that no firearms, including those carried by security staff, will be permitted in polling stations during the 2024 general elections.
The IGP, as Commander-in-Chief of the elections security task force, will have the sole ability to authorize any military involvement, which will be considered only as a last option.
Following a police briefing with officials from all political parties on security preparations for the impending elections, the NDC’s Director of Elections and IT, Edward Omane Boamah, reaffirmed the party’s commitment to collaborating with security services.
He also stated that the NDC anticipated strong support from security personnel during the special vote on December 2.
“We are relieved to learn that security services have stated that firearms should not be allowed at polling sites. That is excellent news, and we are also relieved to learn that the military will be used as a last choice. Because the Inspector General of Police leads the elections security team, only he has the authority to authorize a military intervention.
“I want to emphasize this because the IGP is the Commander-in-Chief of the elections security taskforce, it is only he who can authorise a military intervention in this elections and what that does is, it places the responsibility for a military incursion on the IGP and no other person.”