Security analyst and President of the Institute for Security, Disaster and Emergency Studies (ISDES), Dr. Ishmael Norman, has deplored the violence that marred the 29 polling stations rerun in the Ablekuma North constituency on Friday.
He criticised the conduct of the Ghana Police Service and the presence of party bigwigs at the constituency, arguing it prompted the chaos that occurred.
Speaking on TV3’s Key Points on Saturday, he singled out former Fisheries Minister, Hawa Koomson, insisting that she had no business being at the polling station on the election day and blamed the Ghana Police for not anticipating reactions to her visit.
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Dr. Norman expressed outrage over what he described as the Ghana Police Service’s passive and negligent response to the violence.
“The reaction of the police is what I don’t like. It looked like there was no spirit call. Some of the police men and women were standing in a detached mode, as if they were not on duty,” he said.
He also condemned the police for failing to support their colleagues when tensions escalated. “If you are on duty as a police officer, a soldier, or a security person, and your colleague is tackling a situation, you should give backup and not stand there raising your hand as if you don’t know what’s happening,” he added.
Hawa Koomson
Dr. Norman questioned the former Fisheries Minister’s presence at the polling station, especially given that the NPP had officially boycotted the rerun while their candidate chose to participate independently.
“Honourable Hawa Koomson had no duty to go there, and yet she came back a second time. What was she going to do?. Election day does not allow campaigning, especially not at a polling station. So what was she doing there? The visit was unnecessary. All party officials from both sides should have stayed away. It brings down the maturity of our democracy,” he stated.
He argued that clear barriers should have been set up to control access to polling areas, blaming the police for allowing Hawa Koomson and the unidentified men into the centre without searching for concealed weapons
Dr. Norman condemned the use of pepper spray during the incident by Hawa Koomson, warning that it posed serious health risks. “Pepper spray is a weapon. Some people are allergic, and if sprayed in the eye, it could lead to heart attacks or even death. What if she had a gun? Thankfully, she didn’t. But what if she had a knife in her bag and stabbed someone?”
He condemned what he called the ‘big man, big woman syndrome’ in Ghana, which allows political elites to act with impunity. He urged the police to go beyond this stupid syndrome and treat everyone equally before the law. That, he said, is the only way to prevent the excesses and protect Ghana’s democracy,” he said.
Dr. Ishmael Norman, unreservedly, condemned the attack on Hawa Koomson and argued that, being a woman and a former Minister, the attackers should have restrained themselves before the situation escalated.