Security analyst, Professor Kwesi Aning has disagreed with the Electoral Commission’s (EC) assertion that the National Elections Security Taskforce failed to provide adequate security for its officials during the 2024 elections.
The EC had criticised the taskforce, stating that its staff faced inadequate protection during the collation and declaration of parliamentary results for nine constituencies, including Nsawam Adoagyiri, Ahafo Ano South West, and Techiman South.
According to the EC, the collation process for some of these constituencies was unlawfully conducted at the constituency level, necessitating a re-collation at the national level.
EC Chairperson Jean Mensa expressed concerns over the lack of effective security arrangements to protect EC staff.
However, speaking in an interview on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, Prof. Aning Professor Aning countered this assertion, stating that the election was generally well-organised and secure.
Prof. Aning acknowledged that there may have been instances of violence but disagreed that the security forces failed to perform.
He emphasised that individual instances of lapses should not be used to assess the performance of an institution.
“In general, I think the consensus in the election has been that the election was satisfactory organised and held, and that people went about their businesses fairly and securely. That does not take away the fact that there may have been instances where violence took place but into claim that the security didn’t perform, that is overstretched of what we all witness in this country. I don’t deny the fact that there may be lapses, but I don’t think it is the individuals instances that is used the performance of an institution, otherwise the EC as an institution would have gotten an ‘F’ prior to the elections because they made numerous unforced errors in their own work, but that’s not how you assess an institution, it’s the overall conduct.”
