‘Don’t get military anywhere close to where citizens are casting their ballots’ – Festus Aboagye advises government
A security expert with the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Centre has called on government to desist from using the military to play key security roles in the upcoming general election.
According to Colonel Festus Aboagye (Rtd), exposing them to the political scene of the country could spell doom for the country.
“On December 7, I would wish that we don’t get the military anywhere close to where the citizens are casting their ballots. They can be part of what the police call a rapid reaction force or patrols in order that confidence will be built among the population who will be encouraged to vote.”
“It is my personal opinion that some of the missions or tasks that we got the military to undertake and the way and manner in which the soldiers on the ground sought to undertake those tasks draws the military into the political battle space. This is not healthy that in this election when there is no provision in CI 126 for any form of pre-screening,” he said.
However, he noted that if the need for their services arises, it must be to support the Police Service in their operations.
He told Winston Amoah on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Tuesday that, the hazards of employing the military during democratic processes will undo the gains made by the country.
“Any function which technically relates to EC work; inspection of ID cards, certification of identities are not the function of the election security team members. Theirs is to deal with security issues that emanate from the process not to be in the thick of it.”
“Ideally only police must be deployed at the static points where the elections will take place, that way we are protecting the military from getting involved in the politics of the country which has its dangers. Our history shows,” he explained.
He decried the pockets of violence and that characterised the just ended voters’ registration exercise because of the deployment of soldiers to some parts of the country.
