Programmes Manager of Centre for Democratic Development Ghana (CDD-Ghana), Nana Kwame Aborampah, has commended the National Security Taskforce, particularly the Ghana Police Service led by Inspector General of Police, for the good job it did during the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.
He stated that the use of brute force was avoided by the Election Taskforce, which has helped maintain law and order.
Speaking on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he said the police have demonstrated professionalism and dedication to their duties.
He said the police must avoid the use of force and rather depend on intelligence gathering in arresting culprits.
‘’There are those who still have the colonial mentality of using brute force in police, where they prefer the use of tear gas, water cannons, guns, and others in controlling people. But what they sometimes forget is that the firing of the guns sometimes doesn’t cause the deaths but rather the stampede. An example was the stadium disaster. The tear gas did not necessarily cause the deaths but the stampede. Democratic policing is not the use of brute force. It is about intelligence.
He stated that in the 2020 general elections, the use of brute force, particularly in Techiman South, resulted in the deaths of two people; however, this time, we witnessed incidents in over 30 polling stations, so imagine if the police and the military used brute force to manage the situation and the number of deaths that would have occurred.
”This time, we saw incidents in Ayawaso, Okaikwoi North and South, Ahafo Ano North, Suhum, Nsawam Adoagyiri, Aynesuaano, and other locations, so imagine how many people would have died if the security taskforce had used brute force. So we need to do some analysis to see which approaches and strategies work. In 2020, only a few people were arrested in connection with post-election violence. However, as of 2024, 132 people had been arrested as a result of intelligence gathering.
Out of that number, 46 have been brought to court and remanded. 71 of them are on police inquiry bail, and 15 are on court bail. So, which period, this or 2020, is preferable? So I believe the police’s strategy for managing the 2024 elections is far better and has helped in reducing casualties compared to 2020.’
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
