Ayawaso East By-Election: Police to station 80 officers at each polling station

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The Ghana Police Service has announced extensive security measures as part of preparations towards the March 3 Ayawaso East parliamentary by-election

These measures include among others, the deployment of 80 police officers to every polling station on March 3, in an attempt to ensure a “safe and peaceful voting environment.”

Addressing the press in Accra on Wednesday, February 25, the Deputy Police Commander of the Nima District, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Asong Ayrakwa assured that apart from the officer deployments, several other measures have been put in place to ensure peace and safe before and after the process.

“Every electoral area will have about 80 police officers to protect everyone. So, everyone should come out and vote freely. We have adequate personnel who will be on standby to respond to emergency issues,” he stated.

ASP Ayrakwa further shared that police have begun embarking on outreach activities to ramp up awareness and promote peaceful conduct throughout the constituency, adding that officers are actively engaging with residents using public address systems mounted on patrol vehicles to share important messages about maintaining peace before, during, and after the elections.

“Currently, we are embarking on community engagement. We use the loudspeakers on our vehicles to tell people how they should behave during, before, and after the election. We are the same people; we don’t want violence. No one should insult others or deface or tear down anybody’s posters. These things can escalate into violence,” ASP Ayrakwa added.

The by-election was necessitated by the passing of the sitting NDC Member of Parliament, Mahama Naser Toure, in January while receiving treatment at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

Five candidates are vying for the vacant seat, including former High Commissioner to Nigeria Baba Jamal from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the NPP’s Yussif Baba Ali, Ibrahim Iddrisu from the Liberal People’s Party (LPP), and two independent candidates, Alhaji Mohammed Umar Sanda and David Kannor.