2024 elections: We won’t interfere in the work of police by anyone – Minority

The opposition lawmakers believe that the management of election security is the preserve of the Police. It is when the police feel overwhelmed or overstretched that they are allowed to invite other bodies to come, they said.

The National Democratic Congress lawmakers have therefore come to the defense of DCOP Gabriel Prince Waabu who is facing disciplinary measures in the Police Service for his comments regarding security for the 2024 general elections.

DCOP Waabu had indicated on Accra-based Joy FM that the military would be excluded from the security arrangement for the polls.

“We are not going to involve the military as it were, and it is going to be only the police, fire service, prisons, and then immigration service [that will provide security during the elections].

“It is our baby, it is the police baby, and we will invite our sister security services to assist in one way or the other,” he said.

But reacting to this in a statement the Police service said “The attention of the Ghana Police Service has been drawn to an unfortunate statement made by DCOP Mr Gabriel Prince Waabu during a panel discussion on JoyNews, on Monday 19th February 2024.

“The statements made by DCOP Mr Gabriel Prince Waabu concerning election security are unfounded and do not represent the position of the Ghana Police Service. We would therefore like to disassociate the Ghana Police Service completely from the statements and apologize to the Ghana Armed Forces. The conduct of the officer is being subjected to internal disciplinary processes of the Ghana Police Service. We want to state that under the National Elections Security Taskforce Architecture, The Ghana Police Service works with all other security services including the Ghana Armed Forces to ensure peace, security, law and order, before, during and after elections. The approach to the 2024 General elections will be no different.

“The Ghana Police Service wishes to appeal to the general public to continue to support us and other sister security agencies as we work together to deepen our democratic values during the 2024 elections and beyond.

Addressing a press conference in Parliament on Tuesday, February 20, Member of Parliament for Builsa North and former Deputy Interior Minister James Agalga said “An election security taskforce was formed, the IGP was made the chair of that body, there are allied security services which support the Police in the discharge of another mandate when it comes to the management of election security in our country,  the CDS who is, if you like, the leader of the Armed Forces, is a member of that task force.

“But the issue is that the Police are the ones who must respond, the military comes in only when the police are overstretched and overwhelmed, even if they have to intervene they do that at the behest of the police, that is the security architecture we have adopted for ourselves, and so when we witnessed a shooting in Techiman  South where soldiers were first responders, we thought that that was regrettable, it was unfortunate and it will never repeat itself.

“What the DCOP simply said was nothing but a statement of fact and it is our expectation that moving into election 2024  we expect the Police to discharge their mandate s very effectively and efficiently in order to make it unnecessary for the military to be brought in because the military are not trained primarily to maintain internal law and order and so when you bring them in normally you are bound to have certain challenges. As much as possible we think that the police should be adequately and tooled to perform their functions and only bring in the military as a last resort.

“We decry the conduct of the Police service by dissociating itself with statements attributed to the DCOP Waabu because those were statements of fact. Worst of all they say he will be subjected to internal disciplinary proceedings. For what offense?  For staying what is obvious and factual?  For stating what is born out of the law and the constitution?”

He added, “That is why we found it necessary this afternoon to state categorically that we will not countenance any meddling in the task assigned to the Police service moving into election  2024  by any other security agency of our state unless and until the Police themselves have found it necessary and reasonable to invite them to assist discharge their manage.”