Swedru, Sept 24, GNA- Chief Superintendent of Police, Ebenezer Ewudzi Sackey, Chairman of the Security Election Committee for Agona West, Agona East, and Gomoa Central Constituencies, has admonished political party supporters to desist from damaging opponents’ posters.
He said it was an offence to remove or deface posters on walls and hoisted banners of opponents as indicated by the electoral laws of the country.
Chief Supt. Sackey, who was addressing members of the Security Election Committee at a forum at Agona Swedru, said the Committee would not hesitate to apply the law against anyone caught in the act.
The Committee is made up of the Police, Immigration Service, Bureau of National Investigation (BNI), Fire Service, Ghana Ambulance Service, and Political party representatives.
The political parties present were New Patriotic Party(NPP), National Democratic Congress(NDC), Ghana Union Movement (GUM), Convention People’s Party(CPP), People’s National Convention(PNC), Progressive People’s Party and representative of Aspiring Independent Parliamentary candidate for Agona West, Ishmael Kofi Turkson.
Also, in attendance were Traditional rulers, clergy, opinion leaders and other stakeholders in politics.
Chief Supt. Sackey pledged the commitment of the Committee to ensure that peace and tranquillity prevailed before, during, and after the December 7, 2020 polls in the three Constituencies.
He tasked political party leaders to caution their supporters against indulging in nefarious acts that could spark electoral violence, saying the aims and objectives of the Committee were to ensure a violence-free election.
The participants discussed the vigilantism and related offences Act passed by Parliament and assented to by President Akufo-Addo on August 23, 2019.
The law bans political parties from the use of macho men to disturb the peace and stability of the nation.
They were also taken through the importance of the Public Order Act, which required political parties to write to inform the Police five clear days before an event could be held.
Chief Supt. Sackey said the Public Order Act empowered the Police to go to the Magistrate’s Court to restraint any political party or group of people wishing to organize an event that it perceived could spark violence.
The Chairman expressed the hope that the forum organized by the Election Security Committee would help facilitate the activities of both the police and political parties before, during and after the December 7, polls.
He said the major aim of the Committee was to keep the three constituencies namely Agona West, Agona East and Gomoa Central together after the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
Chief Supt. Sackey said similar fora would be held at Gomoa Central at Afransi and Agona East at Nsaba to discuss matters concerning peace and stability.
The participants appealed to the leaders of the political parties to refrain from acts that could affect the socio-economic advancement of the country.
The participants pledged to ensure that peace and stability would be maintained in the upcoming polls in the three Constituencies.
