Security agencies must be loyal to the State only – EC Official
Mr. George Gyabaah, Brong-Ahafo Regional Director of Electoral Commission (EC), has asked state security agencies to discharge their duties professionally in the supreme interest of the country.
He said as major stakeholders in maintaining peace and order in the country, security agencies were expected to act professionally by showing loyalty to the state and not to political parties.
Mr. Gyabaah made the call at a one-day regional sensitization workshop on the 2012 general election bio-metric registration process organised by the Brong-Ahafo Regional Peace Council in Sunyani.
The 60 participants included Police personnel and representatives of political parties and civil society organizations.
The workshop sensitized the participants on their roles in ensuring both the success of both the bio-metric registration exercise and the December 7 general election.
On the role of political parties, agents of candidates, civil society organizations, the media and the electorate, Mr Gyabaah emphasized that professionalism and nationalism would guarantee peace and success of any electoral process.
Members of state security agencies should be able to exhibit personal and professional integrity in their operations, the EC regional director said, adding, it was essential to ensure peace before, during and after the presidential and parliamentary elections this year.
Mr. Issah Abdullahi Nasagri, Brong-Ahafo Regional Director of National Commission, on Civic Education (NCCE) who spoke on the challenges to peaceful, free and fair elections, noted that the contest for political power through elections could be very strong and uncompromising.
According to him, such conflicts were natural, neutral and most often not violent but rather it is “the responses of parties during conflicts that turn to be violent and that is what becomes visible”.
Co-operating to manage a conflict that might arise between political parties during electioneering process would ensure ownership of resolution and increase the chances of compliance with decisions, Mr. Nasagri explained.
Mr. Suallah Abdallah Quandah, acting Executive Secretary of the Regional Peace Council, appealed to political parties not to transform their differences into disputes.
He urged politicians to engage in discussions on issues of national interest without being offensive because what Ghanaians required from political parties were tolerance, compromise and co-operation in the management and resolution of electoral disputes.
Source: GNA