DEC 7 POLLS WILL BE PEACEFUL-AMOO (Page 3 Lead)

24/09/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
THE National Security Co-ordinator, Dr Sam Amoo, has given the assurance that the December parliamentary and presidential polls will be held in an atmosphere of peace.
He affirmed that the security apparatus of the country had, in times past, stood the test of time and would rise to the occasion once again to avert any possible threat to the state as the elections approached.
Speaking at a two-day Election Monitoring and Policing seminar for Police commanders and members of the National, Regional and District Elections Security Task Force in Accra, Dr Amoo said the perception of insecurity and mayhem, and the spectre of a Kenya or a Zimbabwe occurring here, would not happen.
The seminar is being sponsored by the British High Commission.
He said although it was widely acclaimed that Ghana was a peaceful country, the security apparatus would not take any chances for the electoral process to be threatened.
"We have planned and will effectively execute the necessary security measures to ensure peace and stability before, during and after Election 2008," he said.
The co-ordinator said the seminar was timely, in view of the fact that the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections were less than three months away and given the backdrop of the anxiety currently being generated about them.
He said the topics for discussion included the electoral law and electoral offence, the role of the media in elections, the role of civil society in elections and democracy and human rights and the management of election conflicts.
Dr Amoo expressed the hope that all Ghanaians, irrespective of their political affiliations, would be governed by the rules, regulations and guidelines set out by the Electoral Commission to ensure peaceful elections in December 2008.
He urged the participants to approach the seminar with seriousness in order to be fully prepared for the challenges they would encounter in December.
For his part, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong, said since its inception in May this year, the National Elections Task Force had made steady progress.
He said a budget had been approved and members of the various sub-committees were doing their final rounds of tours in the regions to confirm earlier analyses and assessments.
The IGP said the seminar had five parts, saying the remaining four would be held in Kumasi, Tamale, Takoradi and Ho and that at the end of it all members would have improved on their store of information on the elections and the general overview of analyses and assessment countrywide.
The Political Officer of the British High Commission, Ms Rosie Tapper, said the commission had spent £500,000 in training the police, of which the seminar formed part.
She said the High Commission was confident that the elections would proceed smoothly and that there would be no room for complacency.
The Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Mr David Kanga, said the laws on the electoral process were many but the crucial ones would be made available to the public.
He called on the participants to act professionally during the elections and disseminate the right information to avoid any clashes.