Let’s be careful about organising functions under party colours- Police

The Brong-Ahafo Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police Seth Charles Oteng, on Thursday expressed concern about the organisation of social functions under politically coloured atmosphere.      He has therefore urged all municipal and districts police commanders within the region not to wait to be informed or invited before assigning some police officers to such gatherings to guarantee the peace and stability at the grounds of such events.      He said if pressure on this year's election could not be minimizing at this period, it would be very difficult to control the situation during the election day.      The Regional Police Commander was addressing municipal and districts police commanders in Brong-Ahafo, at a meeting held in Sunyani, aimed at highlighting the causes of violence at campaign grounds, and to adopt measures to check the situation through the formation of elections security taskforce, at the local level to ensure peace before, during and after the December polls.      ACP Oteng called on the districts police commanders to report to the regional head quarters any violations of law or cases beyond their control for support and further actions to be taken.      He therefore urged the police team to be abreast with the constitutional laws governing the country's election, to enable them to educate and brief police officers under their control, before they are deployed for official assignments to prevent incidents that might be caused by the police themselves.      He said out of ignorance, supporters of the political parties see themselves as enemies, saying, it was the responsibility of the police force to educate them on such issues.      He revealed that party supporters listen to their executives more than the police and hence advised commanders to work with the party's executives in solving political cases at their areas.      ACP Oteng emphasized that on the elections day, district commanders should deploy only competent and experienced police personnel's to the polling stations and the officers should wear protective uniforms for their safety.     He asked them to have a critical watch on the electoral officers and the polling agents at the polling stations to avoid any act that could mar peace at the station.      The Regional Police Commander gave an assurance to provide the needed security to such personalities till the end of the exercise.      He warned that "under no circumstances should a police officer leave his duty post at a polling station to attend to another business, not even should a policeman live his post to arrest somebody, even if the situation was out hand, but rather should call for help either from the patrol team".      "The absence of an officer at a polling station can also result in another incident, hence the need to remain there till the end of the exercise," Mr Oteng added.      He appealed to the police service to remain neutral and fair to all political parties and warned them not to allow any public official to be part of the patrol team nor sit in the same vehicle with the police at the elections day, though the Regional Coordinating Council and the district assemblies are to provide the vehicles for patrols at that particular day.      Meanwhile some districts have not been able to form the taskforce and attributed the problem to the lack of interest shown by some District Chief Executives in support of the formation of the force.      He expressed regret that some districts that have the taskforce also lacked the required institutions that were supposed to be part of the committee, which is made up of the Police service, Prisons service, Military and the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI), since some of these agencies are not available in some districts. GNA

NCCE urges electorate to participate in exhibition exercise

Mrs. Augustina Akosua Akumanyi, Deputy Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has implored the electorate to participate in the exhibition of the voters register scheduled for October 5, to ensure their eligibility to vote.      She said it was imperative for voters to confirm their names on the register ahead of the election, to afford them ample time to rectify any omission to avoid confrontation with electoral officers on the day of the election.      Mrs Akumanyi said this when addressing a special durbar for traditional rulers, students and political activists at Juansah in the Asante Akim North Municipality.      The durbar, which was organised by the Municipal Directorate of the NCCE to educate the public on peaceful elections was on the theme; 'Ensuring a Peaceful Election 2008'.      The Deputy Chairperson noted that the nation's quest for a peaceful election required the effort of every Ghanaian, and advocated a sustained campaign to that effect by all stakeholders.      She urged all eligible voters to exercise their franchise since, it was their civic responsibility, saying, massive turnout would further enhance democracy and also boost the nation's reputation to the outside world.      She urged Christians not to use church as excuse to abstain from the election and entreated church leaders to hold short services to enable members to participate in the national exercise.      Mr Kusi Aboraa, Ashanti Regional Director of the NCCE, underscored the need for Ghanaians to tolerate each other's view and desist from utterances that could spark violence.      He urged followers of various political parties to exhibit high sense of decorum during their campaigns, stressing that their actions were crucial to ensuring a peaceful election.      He advised the youth to engage themselves in productive ventures and resist attempts by politicians to use them to achieve their political ambitions at the expense of their future.      Mr Aboraa also challenged women to join the fight against violence in the run-up to the election since they would be worst affected in the event of conflict.      Mr Paul Oppong, Municipal Director of NCCE said the commission was committed to educating the public on their civic responsibilities, adding that, his outfit had held series of fora geared towards peaceful election. GNA