Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs. Jean Mensah says the Commission did not receive security briefings from the Police and other security agencies on the deployment of security personnel to the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election.
Mrs Mensah was responding to questions, when she appeared before the Emile Short Commission.
She however refuted reports that violence occurred at any of the designated polling stations.
The Commissioner also disagreed that there were armed men at the polling stations.
Her comments are in sharp contrast to the Report released by the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers, CODEO, and other admissions by security chiefs who appeared before the Commission.
Also appearing before the Emile Short Commission, Director in Charge of Operations at the Ghana Police Service, DCOP Alex Mensah, says he was surprised at the presence of the SWAT team at the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election.
DCOP Mensah said he was unaware of other security arrangements made.
He denied the deployment of masked security personnel and the use of a Police branded vehicle.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery has told the Emile Short Commission probing the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence that the vehicle used by the masked security men did not belong to the Police Service.
According to him, in his interaction with the Inspector General of Police (IGP), he came to understand that the Service did not release any vehicles for use by the men purported to be National Security operatives.
He added that the IGP was investigating the matter, saying “it has come to my notice on the video that they were in the vehicle that had a police logo, that was some of the reasons why I forwarded to the IGP and he denied that was not a police vehicle like those in use by the police and that all police vehicles had GP number.“
“As far as reported to me by the IGP who was in charge of the operations, I will say that there were police and also officers of the Ghana immigration service deployed to the 137 polling stations, so that is what I know”, he said.
When asked if it had come to his notice that there were other security agencies, he said he first saw on TV, a number of persons dressed up in khaki and some of them wearing masks and were armed.
