The Ghana Police Service has disclosed that a total of 62,794 security personnel have been deployed to ensure the security and safety of Ghanaians during the December polls.
The Inspector-General of Police, James Oppong-Boanuh said the number includes officers from various security agencies in the country.
According to the IGP, the officers are from “the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Fire Service, the Ghana Immigration Service, the Ghana Armed Forces, the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service, Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority and other security agencies,” he said.
He said this at a press conference held to inform the general public on security measures being instituted towards success in the December elections.
He noted also that the aforementioned personnel on the election day will be in their regular uniforms except officers from the CID and the Bureau of National Investigations who will be in plain clothing.
“For identification purposes a special armlet will be worn by these officers on election day,” he added.
Other measures
The Police said there will also be standby guards who will be deployed with support from the Ghana Army.
Following lessons from the voters’ registration exercise, the Police indicated that incident free areas will not be underestimated, as all police stations will have at least one armed officer on election day.
Further, motorbikes will not be allowed within a 100-metre radius of any polling station.
This, he noted is to prevent ballot snatchers known to carry out their activities using motorbikes from operating on election day.
Depending on the situation, Police response to distress calls by citizens is expected to be within a 15-minute period.
There will also be channels for rapid response, however, this will be communicated on the day of election to enable the public to know what to do when there is electoral violence or any electoral malpractice