The Ghana Police Service has cautioned political parties, Flagbearers and their running mates to be advised against engaging
Police officers assigned to protect them in this election year in other
domestic activities outside their mandated roles of protecting them.
The Police say engaging such officers in domestic
activities amounts to an abuse which they will not countenance.
The Ghana Police Service has assured it will
provide four police personnel for each presidential candidate and two for their
running mates during the electioneering period ahead of the November polls.
This package forms part of security arrangements
being put in place to ensure a peaceful electioneering process.
Speaking during a meeting between the Ghana
Police Service and political Parties yesterday, the Director of operations for
the service, Chief Superintendent Dr Benjamin Agordzo warned that the services
of the officers will be withdrawn, if the flag bearers and their running mates
do not comply with these modalities.
“It will not be nice for us to see any
Presidential candidate use the Policeman as if he’s a servant or whatever in
there in the house, or go to the mall and then he’ll be carrying the basket and
dropping things in it. Those are things that we’ll want to say unequivocally
that we will withdraw the people as soon as we have this information,” he noted.
Ghana is preparing for a high-stakes election in
which incumbent John Dramani Mahama is seeking a second term in what is billed
as a tight race with his main rival, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Nana Akufo-Addo, three-time flagbearer of the
biggest opposition party – NPP – is in a contest with his former colleague MP
for the second time, with smaller parties such as the Convention People’s
Party (CPP), Progressive People’s Party (CPP) and the People’s National
Convention (PNC) also regrouping.
Mr Mahama beat the former Attorney General in the
2012 polls. His predecessor, Prof John Mills also defeated Mr Akufo-Addo in
2008.
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