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The Western Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Akuribah Yaagy, has said the Western Regional Police Command is ready to provide adequate security at the various polling stations in the December 7 Polls.

  The Regional Commander said the Police was committed to ensuring a violent-free election in fulfilment of the social contract they had with Ghanaians by maintaining law and order before, during and after the polls.

  He, therefore, called for a sense of collective responsibility and efforts from all stakeholders, particularly, the political parties, the Elections Management Body, the media, the clergy and interest groups, to achieve the desired outcome.
  DCOP Yaagy, who is also the Chairperson of the Regional Election Security Taskforce, made the remarks at a stakeholders’ meeting in Takoradi.

   He urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure a level playing field so that the outcome of the polls would be accepted by all and sundry.

   DCOP Yaagy urged the media to be circumspect with their reportage and blacklist politicians and political activists who used intemperate language on their platforms, saying the media played a crucial role in ensuring peaceful elections in any country.

   He entreated the leadership of the various political parties to advice their supporters to be law-abiding and desist from any form of electoral violence since anyone found culpable would have a “brush with the law.”
“You should campaign on issues because elections are about the sharing of ideas and at the end of the day, Ghana will be the ultimate beneficiary,” he pointed out.

    DCOP Yaagy asked the political parties that had concerns with the electoral processes to use internal conflict resolution mechanism such as the Interparty Advisory Committee to address their concerns.

     He called on the religious leaders to use their pulpits to preach peace and tolerance, instead of predicting the outcome of the polls; noting that such pronouncements had the tendency of creating unnecessary tension and conflicts in the society.

    Mr. Godwin Tawiah Okley, the Regional Deputy Director of the EC, assured Ghanaians that the Commission would continue to be transparent with the electoral process and ensure a level playing field for all the players.

Mr. Alphonsus Arthur, the Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education, said the Commission had been educating the electorate on the electoral law C.I 94 in its public engagements and expressed the optimism that the electorate would cooperate with the EC to ensure a smooth exercise.

     Representatives of the political parties, including the National Democratic Congress, the New Patriotic Party, Convention People’s Party and the Progressive People’s Party, stated that they had trained their polling station agents to observe the elections and assured Ghanaians of their commitment to ensure a peaceful exercise.

     Some heads of Department, Ministries and Agencies as well as the security agencies and religious organisations also attended the meeting.