In a surprising turn of events, it has emerged that former President John Mahama Deployed over 5,000 soldiers to supervise the 2012 elections.
That year’s election ended in controversy with voting spilling to the next day with subsequent election petition being filed at the Supreme Court.
This revelation comes as a shock, given John Mahama’s recent criticism of the government’s alleged plans to deploy military personnel to polling stations.
According to reports, the then Chief of Defense who is now part of Mahama internal security Staff, Lt. Gen. Augustine Blay, disclosed that the Military High Command had 5,000 standby troops ready to be deployed to every corner of the country to supervise the 2012 election.
This was revealed during a meeting with President Mahama at the Burma Camp in October 2012.
The deployment of soldiers to supervise elections is not new in Ghana.
However, the scale of the deployment in 2012 was significant, with 5,000 troops stationed across the country.
The move was seen as an effort to maintain peace and order during the elections.
Fast-forward to the present, and Mahama’s NDC is criticizing the government for allegedly planning to deploy military personnel to polling stations.
The NDC has accused the government of attempting to intimidate voters and rig the elections with soldiers.
However, given John Mahama’s own history of deploying soldiers to supervise elections, the NDC’s criticism of the government’s alleged plans rings hollow.
The move has been seen by some as a cynical attempt to score political points, rather than a genuine concern for the integrity of the electoral process.
As the country prepares for the December 7 polls, the issue of military deployment to polling stations remains a contentious one.
While the government has assured citizens that the deployment is intended to maintain peace and order, the opposition NDC remains skeptical.
-BY Daniel Bampoe