There is growing disquiet in the various security agencies after more than sixty-per cent of the officers who will be performing security duties on election day were excluded from the list of persons eligible to take part in the special voting, security analyst Adam Bona has alleged.
Adama Bona told GhanaWeb in an interview that some of the officers are seething with rage over the EC’s decision to omit them from the register for the special voting.
He appealed to the EC to liaise with the leadership of the agencies to find a solution to the matter since it has the potential of reducing morale among the soldiers.
“Information I have picked up from credible sources within the various security agencies is that majority of the officers who will form the core of the Security Task Force and therefore are supposed to take part in the special voting don’t have their names on the register for the special voting. Between 60 to 70 percent of them have their names omitted from the electoral roll so there are agitations within the agencies”.
“Quite a number of them have called me and I have spoken to their bosses to find out what they are doing about it and they told me they have informed the EC and the EC has asked them to re-submit the names. This issue has the tendency to lower the morale of these officers who are supposed to protect ballot materials and human beings alike before and during the elections.
Adam Bona confirmed that he has spoken to some EC officials who told him that the officers will be allowed to vote at the polling stations they will be posted to on the day of the elections.
He, however, questioned the legality of the move as the names of the officers may not be on the register for that particular polling station.
“I have checked with some officials of the EC and they said they will make provisions for the personnel to vote at where they will be posted but how can you vote at a polling station when your name is not on that register. If their names on the register, how can they vote? The EC will have to ensure that no security officer will be disenfranchised”.
He also discussed the security dangers the situation poses to the country. He said that the officers may not give off their best as they will feel betrayed by the state.
“The obvious security threat is that security officers will not be willing to perform to their maximum best. If there is going to be tension, you expect security agencies to deal with the tension and make sure there is no chaos but if you have a situation where the officers are demotivated and will look elsewhere because they think the state does not care about them then we have a very big problem”, he concluded.
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