The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has warned President Akufo-Addo to halt the deployment of armed military forces into local communities across the country.
This comes after reports of some military personnel allegedly being deployed to some places to provide security.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has emphasised that its role will be limited to supporting the police in ensuring a peaceful election process.
However, the NDC argues that the military’s presence in local communities is not necessary and may undermine the democratic process.
The NDC claims this deployment is unconstitutional and unlawful, and only serves to intimidate voters.
A statement signed by General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, expressed alarm over what it called the “unbridled militarization” of the electoral process.
According to the NDC, Article 200(3) of the 1992 Constitution clearly states that the Police Service is responsible for maintaining law and order.
The NDC questioned whether the ongoing military deployments were made at the request of the IGP, as outlined in the Election Security Task Force’s briefing to political parties.
The NDC’s statement read in part: “The NDC has observed with utter dismay the ongoing deployment of armed military forces with armored vehicles, machine guns, and sniper weapons into local communities across the country under the pretext of providing election security. This unbridled militarization of the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections is unconstitutional and unlawful, and only serves to intimidate the electorate and their families in otherwise peaceful communities. The NDC sees this as an attempt to subvert the will of the Ghanaian people. An election is not a war. This is a maintenance of law and order mission meant for the law enforcement agencies, not a war or restoration of law and order mission that would be meant for the military.”
The NDC has called on President Akufo-Addo to order the immediate withdrawal of the military from all local communities.
