The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has cautioned political parties against complacency, going into the December 7, 2024 general elections.
According to him, until the Returning Officer declares the final results, not even polls, whether artificial or not, could be a guarantee of winning the election, which is tipped to be keen.
“No candidate or party can be said to have won the 7th December election before the people cast their vote, and their vote has been duly counted and declared by the authorised public agencies,” the President said.
He continued that, “this is what matters, not polls, artificial or otherwise of limited numbers of Ghanaians. Any idea that the December 7 election is a foregone conclusion should not be countenanced by anybody in this country. It is not a done deal.”
POLLS
The comments by the President come at a time when pollsters and researchers have begun predicting the fate of political parties and their candidates. five months ahead of the general elections.
The latest survey has come from Global Info Analytics, which tells of the voting patterns for both parliamentary and presidential elections across the various constituencies.
Political parties and other stakeholders concerned with the voting and who is likely to carry the day may see the survey as the thinking of the voters and may strategise accordingly, based on their expected outcome.
PEACEFUL POLLS
President Akufo-Addo was speaking in Accra last Sunday, where he assured Ghanaians of ensuring peaceful, free and fair elections.
While emphasising that it was the vote of December 7 that counted, he urged all eligible Ghanaians to do their civic duty and vote on the persons and parties of their free choice.
For the umpteenth time, President Akufo-Addo expressed his unwavering commitment and that of his government to upholding democratic principles.
In furtherance of that commitment, he assured Ghanaians that, “we will leave no stone unturned in safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process.”
ATTEMPTS
Without mincing words, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, President Akufo-Addo, stressed that anyone who attempts to subvert the will of the people will face the full rigours of the law.
He explained that the government shall be resolute in enforcing the law on vigilantism “without fear or favour” so that citizens can exercise their franchise free of violence and intimidation.
The President said that it was the collective responsibility of all citizens to ensure that the voice of every Ghanaian was heard and respected, thereby contributing to a peaceful and prosperous nation for all.
TASKFORCE
The election atmosphere is gaining momentum as political parties and their candidates have hit the ground running with campaign messages to obtain votes from the electorate.
On the other hand, security agencies are planning and plotting to defuse any attention before, during and after the elections.
Last week, the National Election Security Taskforce, led by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, met with the Electoral Commission of Ghana to take stock of their collaboration as well as plan ahead.
According to The Chronicle’s Bernice Bessey, the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC), so far, finds the collaboration between the two sides effective, particularly with the protection services for recent voter registration exercises.
In her reporting, she said that Jean Mensa, Chair of the Electoral Commission, described the collaboration as fruitful and thanked the IGP and his cohorts for the wonderful work done.
Dr. Dampare stated that those handful of incidents were being dealt with, saying “Even though there were 1, 2 and 3 instances, the fortunate thing is that those behind them have been arrested and a few of them we are still pursuing, and some of them are being prosecuted.”
