Show interest in polls process - IDEG

The Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) has called on the electorate to be vigilant and show interest in the electioneering process as the country inches closer to the December polls.

At a press briefing in Accra on Tuesday, Minister for the Interior, Prosper Bani, assured the public that the Police Service would remain vigilant before, during and after the December polls.

“As we move towards the 2016 election, I do not think that citizens of this country should have any fear as long as they abide by the law. Security services especially the police will continue to be vigilant to ensure that rogue elements that are hiding behind political parties do not disturb our peace,” he said.

Speaking at a civic forum on the preparedness of the Ghana police service to ensure peaceful elections this year, Executive Director of IDEG, Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, urged citizens to assist the police and also participate fully in making sure the elections are free and fair.

“…What they (police) found is that the information we passed on to them during elections are credible because we have a way of testing and making sure that the police can act swiftly on that and they themselves have expressed interest working with our regional security groups and possibly even giving us all the information we need to help them maintain peace throughout the country,” he stated.

“But I think even as they do that, it is still our civic responsibility and civic duty as citizens to also educate our community members. Everybody voting must understand the importance of protecting their mandate and so a certain level of vigilance is required. We should not give any stakes to party activists or polling officials who will later on argue about who did what. So this year in particular, we are appealing to communities to also take interest in ensuring that elections are clean and they do not condone wrong doing” Dr Akwetey added.