Ahead of the November 4 presidential primaries of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr George Akuffo Dampare has assured the party of adequate security arrangements.
He indicated that the party will also need to support the Police to ensure that the exercise becomes incident-free.
Dr Dampare said this when the elections committee of the NPP held a meeting with the Police and officials of the Electoral Commission (EC) in Accra on Thursday, October 26.
He said “we want to assure you that on the 4 of November, we are going to give an overdose of security and it will be excellent, it will be awesome.
“All that we require from you is to support us and as every one of us plays their role we will be able to ensure that the Police will do their work, the EC will do their work and all the people who will be voting across the country will also come out freely, willingly and vote, all the agents will also do what they are supposed to do for all of us to finish that process and all of us will be winners at the level of the party, at the level of of the country.”
Chair of the Elections Committee of the NPP, Professor Mike Aaron Oquaye, told the Police to arrest and deal with all persons who disregard the rules of engagement.
He described the NPP as a law-abiding party and will therefore subject itself to all the rules governing the internal elections.
He said “we know the appropriate authority is the Ghana Police. it is not just an internal event which matters, it is our own thing, In fact, even a family meeting, if you have it and you don’t go according to the law and you start fighting, very soon the police will have to come in. So nothing is beyond the parameters of the Police whether it borders on peace and security of the country.
“It is also a fact that the Electoral Commission has been set up as an independent institution whose job basically is to carry out elections in our country. So they must know all the dynamics of the elections, for that matter we are authorizing you as a party to take absolute control of all the processes that you regulate during a normal election in this our election. We have made a number of guidelines, it is a matter of common consent
“We are assuring you that the regulations we have all signed up to which we are going to make available to the Police and already available to the EC, is going to be the blueprint of the process. Anyone who disregards this on that day should be dealt with according to law. We want to establish that this country is a lawful nation and for that matter, in particular, the NPP as an advanced party, we claim to be fathers and mothers of democracy in Ghana, therefore, we must act in a manner that is in conformity with the relevant claims that we make. We, therefore, urge you to ensure that you do your work accordingly, there will be no no-go area in this process, Ghaha is one republic and belongs to all of us,” the former Dome-Kwabenya lawmaker added.
The Presidential Elections Committee of the NPP released the guidelines for the primaries that will take place at all the 276 constituencies across the country and the Party Headquarters, Asylum Down, Accra.
In a statement, the committee said the guidelines outlined the procedures and rules for the primaries that would elect a presidential candidate for the 2024 general election.
“The Electoral Commission (EC) shall supervise the conduct of the elections and shall have the full responsibility of ensuring a transparent, free and fair election. No persons, whether party officials or otherwise whatsoever shall act in contravention to the EC and these guidelines.”
The Committee added that “the security activities rest exclusively with the police and access beyond security perimeters is restricted to Delegates, Presidential Elections Committee Members, Contestants and their accredited agents. The Presidential Elections Committee of the Party is the entity with the Constitutional mandate from National Council to oversee the organization and conduct of the election for the Presidential Candidate,” the committee stated.
The committee also said that there shall be no campaign, canvassing for votes or gathering of party people for any purpose whatsoever a day before voting, adding that there shall be no camping of delegates, accreditation is constituency specific and that the media will be granted accreditation.
“Voters are expected to “walk in” freely by themselves. The physically challenged may be assisted. A voter must wait to be cleared before entering the perimeter- Queue Control. No voter shall wear the colour or effigy of a contestant at the voting center (i.e. T-shirts, cap, posters of contestants). Delegates shall not be allowed to enter the voting screen or booth in groups or in pairs.”
“Voting shall not take place indoors but in an open place in the full glare of the public. It is an offence for unaccredited persons to enter the voting perimeter. A delegate who has already cast his/her vote shall not be re-admitted into the voting perimeter. Any person found directing a delegate on which contestant to vote for commits an offence and shall be removed by the police,” the committee stated.