The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has reassured Ghanaians of its neutral and limited role in the upcoming December 7 general elections, addressing concerns raised by some stakeholders about potential military deployment to polling stations.
Clarifying the military’s position, GAF emphasised that soldiers will not be stationed at polling stations during the elections.
Instead, their involvement will be strictly in support of the police and only when requested.
Speaking during an engagement between the Election Security Taskforce and the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Brigadier General Kweku Dankwa Hagan, head of operations, training, and peacekeeping at the Armed Forces headquarters, reiterated the military’s commitment to ensuring peace and order.
“We are mindful of the fact that some section of the population is apprehensive of military personnel taking part in the election. I want to clarify that the election is primarily being handled by the Ghana Police Service and other security services under the Ministry of Interior.
“They are the people you will be seeing at over 40,000 polling stations. You will not see military personnel like me at a polling station.
“So please be rest assured that we shall not be there. However, we have identified with the police service and the Electoral Commission about more than 1,000 flashpoints and possible hostile areas, and we are going to have personnel there.
“We will not intervene in anything until the police service has a request or asks us to assist.”
The assurance comes as part of efforts by the Election Security Taskforce to build public confidence in the security arrangements for the upcoming polls.
