Police administration assures EC of its support

David Asante-Apeatu, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) has given the Electoral Commission (EC) assurance that the Police Administration will support the EC’s objective to demystify its operations to the understanding of the public.

“We will join you in this demystification agenda because people need to understand what is entailed in the electoral processes and their role towards making it successful and peaceful,” he added.

“It is important these steps are taken because there is also the need to defuse the notion that the police can win elections for a political party. In the course of time the Administration works together with the EC on public education”.

Mr Asante-Apeatu gave the assurance when Mrs Jean Mensa, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, led a team of Commissioners of the EC to pay a courtesy call on them in Accra.

Included in the team were her two deputies – Mr Samuel Tettey, in-charge of Operations, and Dr Eric Bossman Asare, in-charge of Corporate Services.

The visit is part of the EC’s efforts to explain its operations and bring the Commission closer to the citizenry, the Commission was engaging in consultations with key stakeholders.

It is also aimed at helping the Commission to know at first-hand the concerns and issues of key stakeholders, regarding the Commission and its operations.

The IGP commended the EC for its efficiency and good work since her appointment as well as taking a novel approach to build consensus among stakeholders towards ensuring peaceful elections.

He said studies had shown that elections does not cause violence but the process involved and urged the Commission to educate its stakeholders on their respective roles and points of convergence to ensure peaceful process in 2020.

Having been briefed that there were 24 political parties in the country, Mr Asante-Apeatu encouraged the EC to clean up the political parties’ register as was being done in the banking and tourism sector to ensure sanity.

He appealed to the Commission to find innovative ways to address the counter accusations on radio by the two leading political parties after attending the Inter Party Advisory Committee meetings.

Mr Mensa when asked if the new Ghana Identity Card would be used to vote in the 2020 elections, said there was no such plan and that before it could be used the National Identification Authority and the EC would need to discuss modalities.

She said the Commission was posed to run an open door policy and would give a level playing field to all political parties to ensure credible, transparent, free and fair elections.

Mrs Mensa said the electoral system over the years had been built and well-tightened and carried along with all political actors from the registration processes through to the declaration of the results.

She briefed them about the commencement of processes to build a strong administrative governance structure to correct lapses at the EC.

Mrs Mensa presented a copy of the electoral laws to the Police Administration.