Chairman of the National Peace Council, Rev Dr Ernest Adu Gyamfi has called on the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to boycott arrangements for a Citizens’ Arrest Task Force ahead of the elections.
Speaking to JoyNews’ Daniel Dadzie in an interview, Rev Dr Gyamfi stated that the NDC’s plans to mobilize citizens to police the ballot on Monday are unfortunate and are along the lines of vigilantism.
He advised that Ghanaians trust the Police and the State Security agencies to do their jobs as has been promised, rather than resorting to the NDC’s suggestion which could lead to chaos.
“Some of these things could create chaos. Is the Police going to do what it promised to do?
“If they are not, then we have every right to question them but if we haven’t even gotten there and you assume that they will not act, you are virtually creating another vigilante group. You are creating a group that is enforcing law who have no backing of the law”.
The National Peace Council Chairman insisted that arrangements laid out by the security agencies are sufficient and efficient to ensure peaceful, free and fair elections, as such, there is no need for citizens to police the ballot boxes.
“The security agencies have given assurance that they are going to have a 4-tier level of monitoring this election. They are going to have those who will be at the polling station; they have the response group and have the backup team that will deal with chaos,” he said.
Rev Dr Gyamfi also admonished all political parties to have trust in the Election Security Task Force to professionally discharge its duty.
“Let us stay back and observe. With all these arrangements I believe everyone should be able to stay calm. We want to believe them, that they will live up to their word.”
The National Peace Council prayed for the country ahead of the elections and believes Ghana will maintain its status as a peaceful nation.