On Tuesday, Ghanaians witnessed one of the most fiercely contested, but yet peaceful, by-election in the Assin North Constituency in the Central Region.
The election, which was mainly contested by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), with the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) pulling strings, was tipped by many election observers to be a close contest between the two dominant parties.
The constituency was created in 2012, and in the same year, the NDC won it by defeating the NPP, but the pendulum swung four years later, as the NPP overturned the fortunes of the NDC by winning the seat.
However, the NDC came back strongly in the last general elections, held in 2020, to reclaim the seat from the NPP in a dramatic turn of event that saw Mr. James Gyakye Quayson emerged victorious.
Unfortunately for Gyakye Quayson, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that he was not eligible to have contested the elections, and that the Electoral Commission (EC) erred by clearing him to contest.
The ruling followed a court action instituted against him by a constituent, which started at a High Court in Cape Coast in 2017, less than a month after he had been declared the winner.
The ruling of the Apex Court set the stage for a by-election in the constituency, as the seat became vacant.
Stalwarts of the NPP and NDC stormed the constituency and spent weeks with the constituents even before a date was fixed for the by-election to canvass for votes for their respective candidates.
Looking at the situation on the ground as in how confidence, determined and desperate both parties were to undo the other for the seat, the anticipation that the highly charged tension could explode was somewhat anticipated.
As a result, the onus for tight security in the constituency before, during and after the elections rested largely on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, his lieutenants and the Police Service in general.
This was imperative because the nation was not ready to have a repeat of the nasty incidents of acts of hooliganism and “terror” which have greeted some by-elections in the past.
In fact, acts of violence were witnessed in Atiwa, Chereponi and Talensi during previous by-elections and the mother of all hell which occurred during the Ayawaso West Wagon by-election nearly marred the country’s infant democracy.
However, in spite of the high stake that was at play during the Assin North by-election, the Dr. Akuffo Dampare-led police administration stood up to the challenge and maintained law and order.
With just about a day to the election, the IGP, as parts of efforts to maintain peace and order, held a crunch meeting with the leadership of all the political parties that put themselves up for the contest.
At the meeting, the IGP assured the stakeholders of adequate security measures that his administration has put in place to ensure a peaceful elections and warned would-be trouble makers.
Undoubtedly, their tactical operation plans and swift responses to seeming acts of lawlessness and hooliganisms ensured that the election was peaceful devoid of brute violence that have greeted recent by-elections.
It is in the wake of the professional conduct of the police, which ensured that the election was relatively peaceful that we, at The Chronicle, want to pat the IGP on the back and praise him for a good job done.
At least, as clearly stated by the chairman Asiedu Nketia of the opposition NDC, the two by-elections held under Dr. Dampare have been relatively peaceful and encouraging.
For nothing at all, Ghanaians have been given a higher level of assurance that the police would be fair, firm and resolute during the 2024 general elections.
Provision of adequate security during elections is cardinal for the survival of budding democracy like ours, which places even a higher responsibility on the shoulders of the police.
Arguably, the current police administration has demonstrated that the police would be up to the task come 2024 if the two recent by-elections are anything to go by.
It is our hope and prayer that the level of seriousness the police attached to the security of the just ended by-election would be maintained at all facets to provide adequate security for the nation.
