According to Inspector General of Police (IGP) George Akuffo Dampare, per “all the analysis we’ve done, it is during collation that some of the critical issues of insecurity happen”.

He emphasised this at a press briefing held, Tuesday, November 19, on the preparedness of a Ghana Police Service-led security taskforce for the 2024 general elections.

Dr Dampare said typical collation centres used for Ghana’s elections have been prone to crisis because the way they are designed leaves them vulnerable to bad actors.

For the Saturday, December 7, presidential and parliamentary elections, he said the collation centres will have fence-walls and will only allow identified and authorised persons only within.

The days when supporters of candidates had access to collation centres where they could be mobilised to act in line with directives given by their leaders are gone, the IGP assured.

He said the processes at the collation centres will be seamless, not cumbersome and dignifying.

He was confident with the help of the Jean Mensa-led Electoral Commission (EC) and all other stakeholders, this plan which, according to him, is currently being finalised, will work splendidly.  

“We’re currently working with the EC to come out with standard collation centres in a way that security will be paramount such that at the end of the day, these difficulties – where you go to a collation centre and its free for all, so disorganised, everybody wants the attention of the other, and we don’t know whom to attend to – will stop,” Dr Dampare declared.

“We’re finalising it but to give you a gist, most of these collation centres are going to be in a fence wall environment with a gate. Entrance to the place will [only] be by people who are supposed to be there: the media, civil society, observers, party persons, candidates, their agents – [only these, and related personnel] will have access into the compound of that fence-wall environment,” he explained.

“The facilities within the fence-wall will be enclosed with doors, ensuring only authorised people have access.”

This, the police head noted, will aid a smooth electoral process and enhance transparency.

Dr Dampare said the process he described will reflect how collation is done at the EC office for national presidential elections, allowing only those “who matter” to be present.

“It’s not open in a park,” accessible to unauthorised persons, and “where people feel uncomfortable, and when they notice they’re losing they charge their supporters to do things that [are against] the law. We won’t do that this time around,” he stressed.

He said officials from polling stations will be received at the collation centres, made comfortable and attended to in an “orderly, mature, well-organised, decent way that projects the goodness of the Ghanaian and the Black man”.

The IGP who gave his word the elections will be “very peaceful,” also asked stakeholders to support the security agencies and the EC to actualise the aforementioned “beautiful concept” for the sake of “orderliness”.