Providing security for elections not part of our mandate – EC

Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana, Jean Mensa has said it is not the duty of the elections management body to provide security during elections in Ghana.

She said the work of the EC as mandated in the constitution does not include providing security during polls.

She, however, expressed concerns about the deaths that characterized the 2020 general elections.

Speaking at an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting in Accra on Tuesday, May 18, Mrs Mensa said: “An exceedingly disturbing challenge is the violence which led to the death of citizens of our country.

“And we say never again. Never again should we go to an election and have anybody lose their lives. Here also, there is a tendency for fingers to be pointed at the EC when security is not the core mandate of the EC.

“I have read the constitution and security is not part of our core mandate. I use this occasion to clarify that the EC is not responsible for election security, although the entire election and its success rest on the shoulders of the Commission. Our mandate as entrenched in the Constitution does not include security.”

Ghana police on 2020 electoral violence

During the polls, a total of 61 electoral and post-electoral incidents were recorded nationwide, the Ghana Police Service announced in a statement on Wednesday, December 9, 2020.

The police said 21 of the incidents were real cases of electoral violence, six of which involved gunshots, resulting in five deaths.

The Police’s statement further noted that there were several fake news about supposed electoral violence.

“However, between 07:00 hours of 7th December 2020 and 1000 hours of 9th December 2020; the Joint Operation Centre of the NESTF has recorded a total of sixty-one (61) electoral and post-electoral incidents nationwide. Twenty-one of the incidents are true cases of electoral violence, six of which involve gunshots resulting in the death of five,” the statement from the Police emphasized.