Ballot boxes are not your property -Police Commander tells parties

By John Bediako

 

The Tema Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Maxwell Atingane, has cautioned groups in the political parties who intend to snatch ballot boxes to refrain from such acts, because the boxes were not their properties.

Ballot boxes, he said, were the sole properties of the Electoral Commission, and that the security agencies would not tolerate unruly behaviour from such groups to foment trouble in the country.

The Tema Regional Commander was speaking at Tema on Tuesday, during the inauguration of the Tema Regional Joint Electoral Security Taskforce.

According to him, ballot boxes, which are the properties of the EC, are only meant for the electorate to exercise their franchise on the day of elections, and that any person or group of persons who attempt to create confusion by snatching the ballot boxes, do so at their own discomfort, which will invite the wrath of the security agencies.

The taskforce, made up of personnel drawn from the Police, Army, Navy, Customs, Immigration, Fire Service, Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), National Security, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Information Services Department, and the Electoral Commission, has Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Richard Nana Assumang, Railway and Ports Regional Police Commander, as Chairman.

According to the Regional Commander, the security services had identified 62 flashpoints in the Tema Region, spanning from Sakumono through Dodowa to Ada, with Ashaiman leading the order, recording 20 areas.

To deal with these situations, the security agencies have mapped out strategy, such as deployment of Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) personnel, and a well rehearsed standby taskforce to move in when the need arises.

On the use of intemperate language, Mr. Atingane appealed to the political parties to educate their supporters against that.

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