The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) is raising concerns about the country’s security preparedness in some constituencies across the country with forty eight (48) days to the December 7 polls.
A pre –election observation report released by the coalition identifies major security gaps in some constituencies.
The coalition’s findings reveal that police visibility in the various constituencies ahead of the election is very limited.
According to the observers, no meeting by district security and the regional Security Council’s were held in places visited.
“CODEO’s Long Term Observers (LTOs) reported very limited visible security preparatory activities in the constituencies. About 65% of CODEO’s LTOs indicated they did not observe or hear of any District Security (DISEC) or Regional Security (REGSEC) meeting,” the report said.
The report also reveals about 32% of the campaigns hosted in the various constituencies visited were not policed by the security in accordance with the public order act of 1994.
“More than half (68%) of CODEO LTOs reported they observed or heard the campaigns being policed in accordance with the Public Order Act of 1994. However, a little over a third (32%) reported otherwise”
The coalition also observed political parties and civil society organization made little interventions to enhance the capacity of women in the constituencies they visited.
The National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party continue to remain the most visible parties regarding electioneering campaigns in the constituencies under observation.
With just 48 days to the general elections, the coalition observed four key policy priority issues: education, unemployment, health and corruption dominated political party campaigns in the constituencies.
The second phase of this pre-election environment observation covered August 31 to September 28, 2016.
Source: Collins Essuman | 3FM|3news.com