The Accra Regional Police Command yesterday held a stakeholders’ forum with all registered political parties in the country, with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) conspicuously missing.
Political parties that were present included the New Patriotic Party (NPP), United Renaissance Party (URP), People’s National Convention (PNC), Convention People’s Party (CPP), United People’s Party (UPP), Yes People’s Party (YPP) and New Vision Party (NVP).
Others were Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), United Front Party (UFP), Progressive People’s Party (PPP) and the National Democratic Party (NDP).
However, representatives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) were absent.
Issues discussed, among other things, included the expectations of the political parties of the regional command, list of flush points and other security concerns of the parties, the list of regional and constituency executives and their contact numbers as well as mechanisms for the political parties to share their programmes with the police to enable them plan ahead.
Addressing the executives of the political parties, COP Dr George Akuffu Dampare, the Accra Regional Police Commander, said the meeting was aimed at putting security measures in place to ensure a peaceful campaign and election this year.
. “We know that every political party is geared up towards coming up with all the programmes of campaigning and all the things that need to be done for them to seek the mandate of the people, but the police as an entity within that context has a responsibility to maintain law and order,” he said.
He noted that the maintenance of law and order is a shared responsibility and so the police would take the lead but would need the support of other players.
“We decided to invite you to meet with us to share a couple of things so that we can work as a team and create an environment where everybody will be able to play his or her part in the whole election process,” he stated.
The focus and purpose of the meeting, Dr Dampare emphasised, was to ensure that the police and political parties create a continued engagement process where the political parties will have easy access to the police at the regional command so that issues of concern can be discussed in a way that will be beneficial to the whole electioneering process.
He urged that political parties should have liaison officers so that issues of concern could be dealt with promptly.
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