Election 2024: Military will only act on Police request – GAF
Addressing worries expressed by certain stakeholders on possible military deployment at voting places, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) have assured Ghanaians of its impartial and constrained role in the forthcoming general elections on December 7.
The Ghana Armed Forces confirmed that troops will not be positioned at polling places throughout the elections, providing clarification on the military’s stance.
The military have assured the public that it will only be involved in matters of the elections at the request of the police service.
Brigadier General Kweku Dankwa Hagan, head of operations, training, and peacekeeping at the Armed Forces headquarters, reaffirmed the military’s commitment to maintaining peace and order during a meeting between the Election Security Taskforce and the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG).
The Brigadier General said “We are mindful of the fact that some section of the population is apprehensive of military personnel taking part in the election. I want to clarify that the election is primarily being handled by the Ghana Police Service and other security services under the Ministry of Interior. They are the people you will be seeing at over 40,000 polling stations. You will not see military personnel like me at a polling station. So please be rest assured that we shall not be there. However, we have identified with the police service and the Electoral Commission about more than 1,000 flashpoints and possible hostile areas, and we are going to have personnel there. We will not intervene in anything until the police service has a request or asks us to assist.”
The assurance comes as part of efforts by the Election Security Taskforce to build public confidence in the security arrangements for the upcoming polls
