President Akufo-Addo has called on the Police administration to re-examine its approach to curbing post-election violence.
He said the violence that erupted after the December 7 elections, which was touted as free and fair, could have been handled more professionally.
The outgoing President made the call when he presented his final State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament on January 3.
According to him, the prompt concession by the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, should not have engendered such level of violence.
“… we should condemn the outbreaks of violence that followed and the assumption some had, that because a presidential candidate had conceded defeat, the winning party should feel emboldened to cause mayhem. It appeared, at one stage, that the outburst of violence would overwhelm the Police who, in my view, need to re-examine rapidly their methods for containing such incidents in the future,” he noted.
“I say so without prejudice to the excellent job they did in supervising the electoral process itself,” President Akufo-Addo clarified.
He was hopeful that future elections will be devoid of such chaos.
“I am hoping that we would soon reach the stage where the unnecessary tensions that are simulated to accompany our elections would disappear, and elections would become simply something that we do, and do without a fuss and with flair,” he stated
President Akufo-Addo praised “The efficient, praiseworthy manner in which the Jean Mensa-led Electoral Commission has conducted the past two (2) elections of 2020 and 2024, despite their challenges…”
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