NDC establishes taskforce to police December polls

This was disclosed by the party’s Director of Elections, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, who said the taskforce will collaborate with the state police.

Christened the Citizens’ Arrest Task Force, he said they will be deployed across the 275 constituencies of the country and will effect citizen arrests if necessary.

Mr. Ankrah further stated that members of the taskforce will “hand over any suspicious characters” to the Police, adding that the NDC is only interested in ensuring peace on election day.

Elvis Afriyie Ankrah ece-auto-gen

“The proper police are there to help. They want the right thing. They want peace. All we want is that on 7th and 8th December we are still in Ghana with peace. That is all we want,” Mr. Ankrah said, as quoted by Citinewsroom.

“Anybody who comes there and attempts to snatch a ballot box or attempts to cause confusion, that person is a thief. That person is a threat to our democracy and must be dealt with accordingly.”

This comes after the National Election Security Task Force warned private security firms to stay away from all polling stations during the December elections.

The Force said only uniformed officers will be deployed at the various polling stations on December 7.

Last month, the Director of Operations at the Ghana Police Service, DCOP Dr. Sayibu Pabi Gariba warned that no private security firms will be entertained at the polling stations.

He said only officers deployed by state security agencies and officials of the Electoral Commission will be in charge of election management.

“These duties shall be performed by uniformed personnel of all the security agencies. Anybody who is not in uniform is unauthorised – private security agencies are not part of it [election management],” Dr. Gariba said this during a forum organized by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service has indicated its readiness to protect all citizens before, during and after the elections.

Inspector-General of Police, James Oppong Boanuh, also urged Ghanaians to act in a professional manner on election day.

“We are prepared to protect all the citizens and the ballot. What we expect is for you to be professional,” he said during a National route march by the security service, the National Ambulance Service and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).