Election 2020: ‘Do the right thing and be fair’ – NDC cautions security personnel

Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Director of Elections, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah has urged the security personnel who would be deployed to election centres across the country to exhibit a high level of professionalism.

He said the elections on December 7, 2020 will be free and fair when the police and military officers become fair and firm.

He disclosed this at a news conference at the NDC headquarters in Accra on Thursday while alleging that some security personnel have been asked to intimidate voters in the strongholds of the NDC. He thus entreated all electorates in the Volta and Oti regions to resist any form of intimidation on election day by police officers or any security official.

Ahead of the Presidential and Parliamentary election on December 7 2020, the NDC has said its intelligence gathered indicate the government has sponsored some persons within the security forces that will be deployed on the day of polls to freighting electorates in the regions perceived to be NDC Strongholds.

He said it is the “duty of the officers to rise up to the occasion and restore the dignity of their profession” by resisting any external forces within the government to intimidate electorates.

“The security are supposed to protect the ballot,” Mr Ankrah stated and cautioned officials of the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Immigration Service and officials of other security services to do the right thing and not be agents of trouble or fear.

The former Minister said Voltarians must not allow themselves to be terrorized but “work and escape from the leadership of the corrupt, wicked Akufo-Addo” by voting against him.

“President is Akufo-Addo is present day King Agorkoli,” he said and reminded people of the Volta Region to be smart and fearless as their forefathers escaped the wickedness of King Agorkoli in Benin.

CARE Ghana Warns

This comes after a civil society organisation, Care for Free and Fair Elections (CARE Ghana) cautioned the Electoral Commission and the security services to desist from engaging in bad practices that will disenfranchise some Ghanaians on election day.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, the Executive Secretary for CARE Ghana, David Kumi Addo indicated that there are a lot of agitations and confusion brewing among the security services over some dubious roles to play on Monday.

” We are reliably informed that some leaders of the security services have directed security officers posted to opposition strongholds on elections day to intimidate and harass innocent voters as was done in the registration exercise. Whiles many regular well-trained security officers feel their duty and responsibility does not allow them to create confusion but to protect lives, limbs and property others are willing to comply. This development is creating some anxiety and misunderstanding among the security officers and badly affecting morale.”

Kumi Addo said “we will like to call on all security officers to ignore such directive and assure them of our support, and that of the general public. We encourage them to positively defy this wicked and nation-wrecking directive from their superiors.”

He urged that “our men in uniform should know that the ammunition given to them is the property of the Ghanaian people procured with the tax payer’s money for the purposes of protecting and not to hurt, or maim the citizenry; to protect our young democracy not to subvert it; to maintain law, peace and order but not create lawlessness, disorderliness and insecurity.”