A total of 15 deaths were recorded due to violence during the 2020 and 2024 general elections across seven regions in the country, a report has shown.
According to the report on the 2020 and 2024 elections violence, eight deaths were recorded across the Bono East, Greater Accra, Bono, and Northern regions during the 2020 elections.
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Seven more fatalities related to electoral violence were recorded in 2024 across the Central, Northern, Savannah, Bono East, and Ashanti regions.
The number of injuries recorded was alarmingly high, with 40 people sustaining varying degrees of injuries during both election periods.
The Odododiodio constituency in the Greater Accra Region recorded 15 of the total 40 injury cases, with Techiman South following with nine cases.
According to the Minister of Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, the electoral death records stemmed from 12 violent cases identified by the Special Investigation Task Force during its investigations.
He indicated that almost all of the 12 violent cases involved firearms used by party supporters during confrontations, as well as by security personnel as a crowd control measure.
“… The circumstances of each case vary, but nearly all involve the use of firearms during confrontations between supporters of the two major political parties and instances where security personnel resort to the use of live ammunition, ‘warning shots’ as a means of crowd control,” he said.
The minister, in his address, also stated that some procedural actions were overlooked in certain cases they investigated.
He explained that the responsible persons either breached discipline or violated legally established requirements.
“The report took into account a number of incidents where some procedural actions were overlooked. There were instances of clear breaches of discipline, violations of legal requirements, and total neglect by officers who were either present or responsible for situations that required prompt and responsive actions,” he stated.
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Meanwhile, some of the cases have been forwarded to the Attorney General for further action and prosecution.
MAG/AE
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