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The Ghana Police Service has cautioned political parties, Flagbearers and their running mates to be advised against engaging Police officers assigned to protect them in this election year in other domestic activities outside their mandated roles of protecting them.

The Police say engaging such officers in domestic activities amounts to an abuse which they will not countenance.

The Ghana Police Service has assured it will provide four police personnel for each presidential candidate and two for their running mates during the electioneering period ahead of the November polls.

This package forms part of security arrangements being put in place to ensure a peaceful electioneering process.

Speaking during a meeting between the Ghana Police Service and political Parties yesterday, the Director of operations for the service, Chief Superintendent Dr Benjamin Agordzo warned that the services of the officers will be withdrawn, if the flagbearers and their running mates do not comply with these modalities.

“It will not be nice for us to see any Presidential candidate use the Policeman as if he’s a servant or whatever in there in the house, or go to the mall and  then he’ll be carrying the basket and dropping things in it. Those are things that we’ll want to say unequivocally that we will withdraw the people as soon as we have this information,” he noted.

Ghana is preparing for a high-stakes election in which incumbent John Dramani Mahama is seeking a second term in what is billed as a tight race with his main rival, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Nana Akufo-Addo, three-time flagbearer of the biggest opposition party – NPP – is in a contest with his former colleague MP for the second time, with smaller parties such as the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Progressive People’s Party (CPP) and the People’s National Convention (PNC) also regrouping.

Mr Mahama beat the former Attorney General in the 2012 polls. His predecessor, Prof John Mills also defeated Mr Akufo-Addo in 2008.