AM Michael Samson-Oje
Ghana’s Chief of the Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces AM Michael Samson-Oje has lamented the “high political temperature” in the country going into the 2016 general elections.
Addressing journalists in Accra, Tuesday, the CDS said he is optimistic the polls will be conducted peacefully.
“Ours is to support the police and other security agencies to maintain peace and order. The temperature of the campaign is about getting higher and higher and we are not too comfortable and we are looking at it,” AM Samson-Oje told executives of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).
He called on the media to be mindful of their reportage and focus on issues that will calm the tension in the atmosphere. According to him, the army is collaborating with the police to maintain law and order before, during and after the seventh poll under the Fourth Republic.
“The IGP and his men are talking to all stakeholders and we are at the background studying how best to see how we can support or react. We assure you that… the Armed Forces is ready to do all it takes to keep this country together.”
The GJA on its part pledged its commitment towards ensuring a peaceful election in 2016.
Ghana votes in November to elect a president and parliamentarians for the next four years. President John Mahama of the ruling National Democratic Congress and Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party are the frontrunners in the polls expected to be neck-to-neck.
Already, the main opposition party has expressed grave concerns over the voters’ register, claiming it is compromised and unfit for the polls.
The Supreme Court has, however, ordered the Electoral Commission to supply it with a list of voters who registered with NHIS cards. The order comes after an initial judgment that ordered the removal of such names from the electoral roll. The move is seen as part of efforts to ensure that the register is cleaned up before the polls.
