Security officers move into Ol Kalou ahead of Thursday's highly-anticipated poll

Hundreds of police officers have arrived in Ol Kalou ahead of Thursday's parliamentary by-election, as security agencies intensify preparations to ensure a peaceful and credible poll.

Videos seen by The Star showed uniformed officers arriving at a centre in the constituency with their luggage before being deployed to various polling stations and strategic locations.

They were expected to be briefed before being deployed to their stations.

The deployment comes a day after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the National Police Service assured residents that elaborate security arrangements had been put in place to safeguard the electoral process.

Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja said more than 1,000 police officers, including personnel from specialised units, have been deployed across the constituency.

The officers include four platoons drawn from the General Service Unit (GSU) and the Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU).

Kanja said the deployment will be reinforced by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), whose role will be intelligence gathering, investigations, arrests and prosecution of anyone involved in electoral offences.

"We have sufficient deployment from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, whose mandate shall focus on intelligence gathering, investigations, arrest and prosecution of any party or individuals involved in any electoral malpractice," Kanja said.

He said all 114 polling stations in the constituency will have adequate security in line with standard election deployment procedures.

"This means that we have a minimum of two police officers in every polling station. Their work shall be to safeguard the voting materials and the voting process itself, while offering adequate security and ensuring that the electoral officials perform their duties well and unhindered," Kanja said.

The IG added that each polling station will also be supported by rapid response teams comprising no fewer than 14 officers to respond to any security incidents.

He said four water cannons have also been deployed to reinforce security and enhance the preparedness of officers in the event of any public disorder.

Speaking during a joint press briefing Tuesday, IEBC chairperson Erastus Ethekon said every presiding officer had been assigned two police officers responsible for maintaining law and order within a radius of about 400 square metres around each polling station.

"The presiding officer at every polling station is assigned two police officers who will be responsible for a radius of about 400 square metres, which is the jurisdiction within which we conduct the elections," Ethekon said.

Meanwhile, the electoral commission said it had completed the final phase of preparations ahead of Thursday's vote.

In a statement posted on X, IEBC said election materials had been distributed to polling officials for dispatch to their respective polling stations across the constituency.

The commission said the Returning Officer, in the presence of candidates, chief agents, security agencies and members of the media, supervised the opening of sealed pallets containing ballot papers to allow stakeholders to verify that the security seals remained intact and that ballot paper serial numbers matched their designated polling stations.

IEBC said the transparent verification exercise was aimed at reinforcing accountability, integrity and public confidence in the electoral process.