Deal decisively with troublemakers in forthcoming elections - Security agencies advised

Security agencies in the country have been urged to deal firmly with troublemakers before, during and after the December elections.

Three political parties in the Madina Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, were of the view that it was the only way to maintain law and order to prevent disturbances during the polls.

The parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Ghana Union Movement (GUM) made the call on Tuesday at a Municipal Security Committee meeting organised by the La Nkwatanang Madina Municipal Assembly aimed at committing the parties to adopt a common stance on maintaining peace in the area during the December polls.

The Madina Municipality and some parts of the country have been tagged as hot spots during elections, but the political parties claimed the area had never experienced violent scenes during elections and urged the security agencies to de-link criminal acts from politics in order not to be seen as favouring a particular political party.

The NDC Constituency Chairman, Rahman Rahim, said there could be no peace without justice as such charged the security agencies not to let their personal interest override their professional duties.

The Parliamentary aspirant of the NDC, Francis-Xavier Sosu, challenged the political parties to discard fake news put into the public domain which usually heightened tension.

The NPP Constituency Chairman, Eric Nartey, commended the security agencies in the area for living up to their responsibilities and tasked political parties and their followers to give them their maximum support during the elections and also warned those defacing the posters of other political parties to desist from such acts or have themselves to blame.

Prince Oppong, Parliamentary Candidate of GUM, noted that bad faith always bred suspicion and subsequent violence hence the need for more collaboration among political parties for peace to prevail.

The Madina Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent, Cosmos Anyan, commended the political parties for their cooperation over the years and urged them to support the security agencies deliver on their professional mandate.

The Municipal Chief Executive, Jennifer Adjabeng, said the Municipal Security Committee would continue to sensitise the political parties and the residents on the need to live in peace and harmony.