A research by the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana has revealed that most Ghanaians prefer the military to be involved in the protection of citizens' on Election Day.

This, the survey believes, is against the backdrop of the continued fear of the existence of vigilante groups.

The survey which was carried out between November 12 to 22 this year spanned 100 constituencies purposively selected across all 16 regions with 11,949 respondents out of a targeted 12,000 in a random sampling manner.

Out of the total number of people surveyed, 23% of the respondents believe the military to be more prepared to ensure a peaceful election, scoring them 68.2% in terms of their readiness.

The Ghana Police Service comes in closely behind with 22.3% of the respondents rating their readiness for the election at 67.9%.

Overall, the cumulate percentage suggests that 54.3% of respondents surveyed prefer military protection on December 7 in contrast with 36.8% who were against it, with 8.9% indifferent.

Speaking to the press, the lead researcher of the project, Kaakyire Duku Frempong concluded that most Ghanaians trust the military to enforce a violent-free election.

Meanwhile, the majority of the respondents were uncertain if indeed all political vigilante groups had been disbanded, in spite of the fact that the Vigilantism & Related Offences Act 2019 (Act 999) which bans parties, persons or institution from participating or promoting vigilante groups has been enacted.

According to the research, 45.5% were uncertain if political parties had disbanded their vigilante groups; 29.3% believe they have, while the remaining 25.2% believe otherwise.

The rationale behind the survey was to study the dynamics, choices, issues, policies, and programmes of political parties and candidates as the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections approach.

As part of their security assessment of the upcoming elections, the Police identified over 6,000 flashpoints across the country ahead of the 2020 polls.

They have however, assured citizens of their preparedness to maintain the peace before, during and after the elections. This will be done in collaboration with all other state security agencies.