Ghana's military, police vow to deal with election troublemakers

Ghana's military has warned it will use maximum force to repel violent attacks by troublemakers during the country's parliamentary and presidential elections, local media reported here Friday.

Colonel Aggrey-Quarshie, Director of the Public Affairs of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), told local radio Citi News that the military would intervene to maintain law if invited by the police.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of the Police Criminal Investigations Department, Prosper Kwami Agblorh, told local media that the Ghana Police Service had identified over 5,000 election hot spots that must be managed to avoid violence.

"The proliferation of illicit arms in the country, the existence of numerous land and chieftaincy disputes, and the prevalence of terrorist activities in some neighboring countries of our regions all serve as triggers for violence and therefore pose real threats to the 2016 general election," Agblorh outlined.

Some 165 police personnel from the ten regions of Ghana have completed a three-week intensive high risk course ahead of the upcoming polls.

The program was designed to toughen the personnel in combating terrorism attacks, armed robbery, and election-related violence before, during and after the general polls on December 7. Endit