The People’s National Convention, the New Patriotic Party and the ruling National Democratic Congress have expressed divergent views on suggestions for the inclusion of the police in their regular meetings with the Electoral Commission. The Inter-Party Advisory Committee meetings instituted in 1994 by the EC and the political parties is a trust building mechanism that ensures that processes leading to elections and their challenges are brought to the fore for ‘open-air’ discussions and solutions sought to address them. Following the violence that characterized the recent Atiwa by-elections, some security analysts have advocated the inclusion of the police as permanent participants of the IPAC meetings. They say this would help curb violence at potential flash points before, during and after elections. The General Secretary of the Peoples National Convention, Bernard Monah has welcomed the suggestion, saying “the security agencies have been significant actors in our electioneering processes and to the extent that at all points in time, we have relied on the security agencies to ensure the peaceful nature of our elections, when political parties and the Electoral Commission are meeting, it is important that we get the input of the security agencies. That is why the Peoples National Convention feels that the police, rather than just being people that we can always instruct to come and do, they should also come and share their views as to how we can improve.” NPP Chairman Jake Obetsebi Lamptey told Joy News the police should only be invited for discussions on matters bordering on security rather than being permanent members since it is not all issues that the party’s desire to thrash out with the EC that have security implications. “I’m in favour of expanding discussions when and as necessary but I’m saying that it may not be necessary to have the police as permanent members of IPAC not everything that political parties wish to discuss with the Electoral Commission may necessarily be of interest to the police, but if it’s a question of security or policing or whatever, I’m sure the Electoral Commission will invite them and the political parties will welcome them to be a part of that discussion because you do not want to waste people’s time that they sit in discussions that they don’t feel they have any input into or that they can get any output from.” NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, also failed to see the relevance of the police at the IPAC meetings, saying the committee’s mandate is basically advisory, and since already the EC has elected itself incompetent of dealing with security infractions, the police presence will not address any problem. “The EC has said it is not competent to deal with security issues so I don’t see what problem the police presence at the IPAC will address, I really don’t see it,” he told Myjoyonline.com. Myjoyonline.com/Ghana