The African Electoral Institute is calling on the Ghana Police Service to take action against a police officer publicly seen in a viral video in uniform showing her political affiliation contrary to the Service laws, regulations, and code of ethics.
This call by the African Electoral Institute is necessary because a police officer by regulation and law is expected to remain neutral and impartial in their duties and should not publicly display their political affiliation.
The Police Service Act ,(Act 350) 1970 emphasises the importance of neutrality and impartiality among police officers and further prohibits officers from engaging in partisan political activities such as campaigning for, endorsing, or expressing support for a political party while in uniform or on duty.
Also, per the police code of ethics, and service instructions,it is an offence for an officer to engage in an activity outside official duties which is likely to involve the police officer in a *political controversy.*
Some of *the core values* of the Police Service are;
1. Protecting the rights of Ghanaians
2. Be impartial, respectful, open, and accountable to the community.
3. Neutrality, i.e., take initiatives but do not take sides.
African Electoral Institute states that a police officer is, under strict obligation to act impartially in accordance with the above stated laws.
It is, therefore, unlawful to see a police officer in uniform dancing and celebrating with a political party right in the Electoral Commission’s office, publicly displaying her political identity, which has gone viral on social media violating the principles of neutrality and impartiality that the officer has sworn to uphold.
In conclusion, the African Electoral Institute strongly states that the Ghana Police Service should sanction this officer involved to serve as a deterrent to other police officers and to maintain the integrity and neutrality of the institution to shore up public confidence in its operations especially leading to the upcoming general elections on 7th December, 2024.
SIGNED:
*Joshua Adjin-Adjin Tettey*
*Director of Communications and External Relations*
0540904550
*Ex. WO Alhaji Yussif Mahamah*
*Electoral Security Department*
0243311965
*Engr. Judge Hasford Quartey*
*Deputy Director of Communications and External Relations.*
0547510174
*About Us:*
African Electoral Institute ( AEI) is a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) founded to deliver sustainable electoral solutions to Emerging and Developed Democracies to strengthen, augment, and build electoral stakeholders capacity and participation on electoral issues through electoral education on voter’s rights and freedom, electoral research, election monitoring, election observation, election results collation, election security awareness and training of polling agents and elections directors underscoring the fact that “elections are won at the polling stations’’ and the participation of all identifiable electoral stakeholders in an electoral process such as Political Parties, Governmental Institutions, underpinning transparency and accountability for a free, fair, and credible elections in Africa and the wider world.
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