The  African Electoral Institute says personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces must not be deployed to polling stations and collation centres during the upcoming general elections in December.

In a statement dated 10 November 2024, AEI explained: "This call has become very necessary due to some of the unfortunate incidents that occurred in the 7th December 2020 general elections with the Ghana Armed  Forces involvement notably in Techiman and elsewhere in the country."

The Institute is of the view that the "military (GAF) should be left to play their primary role of defending the country’s territorial borders , whether by land, sea or air from any foreign attack or invasion."

It views "the full participation in general elections by the military as taking them away from their core duties as stated above," warning: "Bringing the military so close to their civilian counterparts has the potential to influence  their way of doing things which can bring their reputation as a 'neutral body' into question depending on which political lenses one is wearing."

The AEI noted that "when the neutrality of the military is brought into question, it raises national security concerns."

"Another reason why the African Electoral Institute is suggesting that the military should not take frontline duties especially at Polling and Collation Centers during general elections or any other elections especially at particular regions and constituencies is that, some political actors or some members of the public see their presence as intimidating and this can lead to low voter turnout ie deterring some voters  from coming out to cast their ballots," AEI explained.

The Institute also said it "believes that the active involvement of the military during elections has the possibility to erode the trust in the electoral process, leading to disputed election outcomes and potential unrest.

We all agree that elections can only be said to be free, fair, transparent, and accountable if they are organised or conducted in accordance with democratic and civilian principles by the Electoral Commission."

The Institute, through the statement, called on the Electoral Commission "to collaborate with the Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) and all electoral management bodies including the Security Services, National Security and all political stakeholders to come together to discuss this matter further, to come out with the best way forward to make sure that some of the unfortunate incidents that took place in the 2020 general elections in which some Ghanaian voters lost their lives, never recurs come 7th December 2024."

"Let us together allow elections to be managed and overseen by civilian authorities such as the Electoral Commission with collaborations from other electoral stakeholders, devoid of the heavy presence of the military which is interpreted as a kind of intimidation tactics masterminded by the ruling government for unfair advantage for its candidates," the statement urged.

Equally, the AEI wants the Ghana Police Service (GPS), who are mandated by the 1992 Constitution to be responsible for all Internal Security Operations (ISO), "to move and take their rightful place come 7th December 2024."

The Institute said that "since the beginning of the fourth Republic in 1992, the military has not been a core  part of Ghana’s elections until the 2020 general elections where the military was involved and precious lives lost."

The AEI emphasised that the "fundamental principle of democratic elections is that they should be conducted in a civilian-led manner  because, the involvement of the military in elections can lead to voter intimidation, and voter suppression, thereby undermining the integrity and credibility of a mere civil  process  which must reflect the will of the people."