Police beefs up security to protect ballot boxes at Adaklu

The Ho Police Command is beefing security at the Waya Police Post to safeguard the ballot boxes used in Monday's special voting exercise.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr Alex Yeboah, acting Ho Municipal Police Commander, who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency, in an interview in Ho, said the decision followed the tension brewing from the disagreement among some political actors in the Adaklu District over the safekeeping of the ballot boxes.

Supporters of the two major political parties, the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress are said to disagree on whether the boxes should remain at the present location or be moved to Ho.

ASP Yeboah explained that the Ho Command continued to superintend over the Adaklu Command, which only had two police posts - at Waya and Ahunda - and lacked the capacity to adequately protect the ballot boxes.

However, he said, one of the political parties objected to plans to move the boxes to the Ho Armoury for safekeeping, claiming that it would raise party youth to support the Police to protect the ballot, which is under seal.

This development has resulted in some youth massing up at the Waya Police Post to prevent the relocation of the boxes.

Mr Yeboah said since the issue could not be resolved by the close of Wednesday, he was leading a Police reinforcement to the Waya Police Post, where the ballots were being kept until Thursday when an agreement was expected to be reached between the parties.

He explained that Police Armouries were the designated places for the safekeeping of these voting materials over the period, saying if the parties would understand this issue, the dispute could be addressed amicably.

He said since the political parties had counter sealed the ballot boxes with peculiar serial numbers that they had recorded, the suspicion could have been be avoided.

The parties, he said, should believe in the Police to protect lives and property at all times.