Security consultant and academic, Professor Kwesi Aning, has described the number of police officers deployed to oversee the Akwatia by-election as a cause for concern.

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According to him, while the presence of security personnel is necessary, the number sent appears to be excessive for an electoral exercise.

In an interview with Ghanaian broadcaster Kafui Dey, he noted that, considering the violence that occurred in Ablekuma North, a similar situation was unlikely to unfold in Akwatia making such a large deployment of police personnel difficult to justify.

“I think Akwatia itself having a by-election after Ablekuma North will necessarily not be violent because it doesn’t make tactical sense for any of the political parties to necessarily want to go and create havoc. Be that as it may, I think that the police presence is going to serve as a deterrent.

“…Useful as it is, it raises a lot of questions. One is that, from what I am reading, there are over 5,500 police officers there, and that’s almost about one-seventh of the total police force for one constituency, which comes back to the threat in the constituency,” he said.

He also added that the sheer number of police personnel deployed to the Akwatia constituency creates the impression that the threat level there is significantly higher than in other regions of Ghana currently experiencing unrest and conflict.

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Professor Aning emphasised that this level of deployment raises more concerns than it resolves.

According to him, while a strong security presence can be reassuring, it also prompts critical questions.

“Meaning, the threat in the Akwatia constituency is much higher than what is happening in the Savannah, Bole, and Teshie, and the tensions in Sowutuom and Nkwanta and elsewhere. So, I think it raises particular concerns because the essence of police intervention is to isolate, identify, and prevent those individuals from causing havoc.

“Much as it is encouraging, it raises more questions than answers—and why the same level of threat analysis or assessment was overlooked in what happened in Bole and the other places,” he stressed.

Watch the video below:

Akwatia By-Election

Sending about 5,500 police officers to Akwatia raises more questions than answers - Prof. Kwesi Aning

Check first comment for full interview pic.twitter.com/teadreUplC

— Kafui Dey (@KafuiDey) September 2, 2025