Police to ensure violence-free elections

Wa, April 25, GNA- The Police Administration has in consultation with the Ministry of Interior divided the country into five zones for effective policing and monitoring to ensure a violence-free elections this year.

Mr Paul Quaye, Commissioner of Police in-charge of Planning and Research said this when he met officers and men of the Ghana Police Service in the Upper West Region at Wa on Friday. He said each of the zones had been placed under the supervision of a Commissioner of Police for the purposes of the election, with Greater-Accra and Tema forming zone one while Central and Western, and Eastern and Volta had been grouped into zone two and zone three respectively.

Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo Regions are in zone four and the Northern, Upper East and West Regions make up zone five.

Mr Quaye who is to oversee the three Northern Regions, said conflicts, mistrust, suspicion and acrimony could not totally be avoided during the campaign period, and the police, therefore had a vital role to prevent them.

"There will definitely be crisis and conflicts, but as police officers we are expected to prevent or manage such incidents to the best of our abilities."

He said the Electoral Commission and the Police Administration have had a series of discussions on the specific roles that the security services were to play.

He said a training programme and handouts would be prepared to guide all police officers on the conduct of the elections. He reminded them that as citizens they were entitled to vote for political parties of their choice, but warned that they must not compromise their professionalism by engaging in partisan political activities.