December polls: Retired soldier advises govt against bringing military to voting areas

A retired Colonel and security expert has advised government against allowing the military to key security roles in the December 7, 2020 elections.

Colonel Festus Aboagye (Rtd), who is at the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Centre, said bringing the military too close to the electoral process, draws them into the political battlespace.

“On December 7, I would wish that we don’t get the military anywhere close to where the citizens are casting their ballots. They can be part of what the police call a rapid reaction force or patrols so that confidence will be built among the population who will be encouraged to vote.

“It is my personal opinion that some of the missions or tasks that we got the military to undertake and the way and manner in which the soldiers on the ground sought to undertake those tasks draw the military into the political battlespace. This is not healthy that in this election when there is no provision in CI 126 for any form of pre-screening,” he said in an interview on Joy FM monitored by GhanaWeb.

According to him, the military, if it becomes extremely necessary, can be made to support the operations of the police.

He warned that getting the soldiers too close to the democratic process could erode gains made.

“Any function which technically relates to EC work; inspection of ID cards, certification of identities are not the function of the election security team members. Theirs is to deal with security issues that emanate from the process not to be in the thick of it.”

“Ideally only police must be deployed at the static points where the elections will take place, that way we are protecting the military from getting involved in the politics of the country which has its dangers. Our history shows,” he explained.