We are encouraged by the security arrangements being put in place for the December 7 polls.
We have confidence in the security system to contain any eventuality originating from acts of hooliganism that may arise before, during and after the December 7 polls.
All that the authorities must do is resource law enforcement with the necessary logistics and positive outcomes will be realised.
Ghana, now in its 63rd year of independence, should have grown past Election Day hooliganism resourced by bad politicians. The actions and language of such politicians fall below the standard of decency and civility.
Only those who do not have confidence in attracting majority of votes of Ghanaians in the forthcoming polls will consider resorting to disruptive activities.
Reading the security arrangements for December 7 as spelt out by DCOP/Dr. Sayibu Gariba, the cop in charge of Operations, especially the ‘only uniformed security personnel deployment for election duties’ entry, we foresee smooth polls, safe, perhaps isolated incidents.
We wish to however, state that the graphic details of the security arrangements by the police only primes the hoodlums and their sponsors to adopt counter strategies. The operations director and others in the police should restrict how much they let out about plans for December 7. The element of surprise is critical in such matters.
The incidence of some fools snatching ballot boxes on the orders of politicians during polling should be confined to the dark pages of politics.
Those who live in the past and will to try the anachronistic means of furthering the chances of their paymasters through disruptive activities at some polling stations should be dealt with drastically.
The past few weeks have witnessed pockets of arrests of hoodlums with links to bad political actors. Such occurrences should serve as a wakeup call for law enforcement to be on its oars.
Considering the contents of a leaked audio recording of a top opposition politician, detailing a destabilization plot before the polls, there is no doubt in our minds that this template could still be the sight of his grouping.
An uptick in intelligence gathering by law enforcement as we inch towards Election Day should not be marginalized. Some restrictive measures such as not allowing motorbikes close to polling stations especially in hotspots should be considered.
With the hotspots already identified by the police, a situation where law enforcement would be overwhelmed by land guards doing the bidding of bad politicians should not be countenanced under any circumstance.
Intensified patrols of polling stations would instill in voters the confidence that they were indeed covered by the awesome protection of the state.
Those preferring a low turnout of voters would try activities like disrupting voting by triggering fear and panic to achieve their objective, but they must be stopped in their tracks.
Those who are caught seeking to throw spanners into the works of the electoral process should not be spared regardless of who they are.
The powers of the state should be brought to bear upon criminals in a manner that would stimulate voters to go out in their numbers to perform their civic duties on Election Day.
Allowing hoodlums and their sponsors in politics to stop Ghanaians from voting should not be imagined let alone allowed.
While some daredevil fools would try implementing their project of disruptions these could easily be neutralized with efficient security coordination on Election Day.
Security committees made up of representative of the political parties in hotspots and faith persons as a novelty could help calm tensions.
Ghana is bigger than the parochial and selfish interests of individual political actors and the parties they represent.