Some personnel selected from various security agencies have begun a specialised training course on Election Violence and Security ahead of the country’s 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.

The course, put together by the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in collaboration with the German government, is aimed at enhancing the capacity of the security services and law enforcement agents in preventing and managing potential electoral violence before, during and after the December polls.

Participants

The first cohort of the two-week course ended last Friday, with the second cohort commencing from October 21-25 this year at the same venue.

The two cohorts would cumulatively see 82 security personnel (41 personnel per cohort) from the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana National Fire Service, Customs, National Intelligence Bureau, Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and Ghana Prisons Service trained on election violence and security.

It forms part of a series of similar training to be held in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale, designed to equip officers with the skills in handling electoral security across the country.

Rationale

The Director of Training, Colonel Anorph Barnabas Akanbong, in a speech read on behalf of the Commandant of KAIPTC, Major General Addo-Gyane, at the opening ceremony for the first cohort, underscored the role played by security services in ensuring that there was a violent-free election.

“The mandate to preserve peace rests on us security officers,” he said, adding that tensions often accompanied elections in democracies, making the training critical, as it aimed to enhance the ability of law enforcement agencies to manage electoral violence to ensure a peaceful election.

He also expressed gratitude to the German government for their support in making the course a reality and ultimately contributing to ensuring a peaceful election. 

Collaboration

For her part, the Course Director, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Evelyn Edem Agbitor, said it was paramount for the security agencies to work together, although the Ghana Police Service was the central electoral security.

ACP Agbitor stated that security agencies would intensify efforts to prevent any potential disruptions, ensuring that the country’s reputation as a beacon of democracy on the continent was maintained before, during and after the 2024 elections.

She added that similar training programmes held in the past had been useful, as the security agencies were better equipped to prevent electoral offences.

“We all want a violent-free election. So let's all come on board and support the security services to ensure a peaceful election so that in the end, the glory will be for all Ghanaians and not the security services alone,” she said.

The Course Director also called on Ghanaians to be partners with the security agencies by abiding by the laws and regulations set by various security agencies during the elections to ensure that peace remained as the country’s ultimate victory.

For his part, the German Course Director, Norbert Wienold, who officially opened the first cohort of the course, urged the security services to make the course count by ensuring a peaceful election.