Akufo-Addo government, police deserve commendation for peaceful by-elections, says expert
A senior lecturer and dean at the Institute of Local Governance, Frederick Oduro, has said the Ghana Police Service and the Akufo-Addo government must be commended for the peaceful Kumawu and Assin North by-elections.
The lecturer said he had fears chaos could erupt in the by-elections because of the nature of the current parliament.
“I’m very happy with the by-elections,” Oduro said. “I’ve been, especially worried about going into some of these by-elections under the circumstances of our current Parliament because every seat seems extremely important and we have had separate by-elections, one in Kumawu and one in Assin North. In terms of having availability of nonviolent elections this was my biggest fear since the inception of this Parliament.”
“But fortunately we have two by-elections and the police have done extremely well. The Electoral Commission has also done very well. And I am very happy with the political parties and the government to a large extent,” Oduro told Accra-based Starr FM.
He further stated that there were no issues of political vigilantism at the two separate polls as witnessed in the past by-elections.
“I am happy we have had a by-election which is a big challenge to us and we have not had to be discussing today about stealing of election, vigilantes and the likes. So, it is a very good thing for our democracy,” Oduro added.
The Ghana police service ahead of the by-election on 27 June 2023 indicated its preparedness to provide adequate security measures within the constituency to ensure incident-free election.
The Inspector-General of Police, George Akufo Dampare and the police management board (POMAB) held a meeting with the political parties ahead of the by-election.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) and the Electoral Commission were in attendance in order to enhance cordial working relationships among all stakeholders.
