Claims that security officers are using unmarked vehicles to intimidate voters in the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election have been dismissed by Central Regional Commander Joshua Nkanatha, who says all police vehicles deployed for the exercise are properly identified and operating within the law.
Addressing concerns raised during the ongoing vote on Thursday, Nkanatha maintained that police operations are being conducted lawfully, adding that vehicles without number plates are illegal and anyone found using them would face legal action.
“No police officer is driving an unmarked car, the DCI have their number plates, the police…, and even my car has a number plate,” he said.
His response followed allegations by DCP deputy party leader Cleophas Malala, who claimed some security officers were moving around polling areas in civilian clothes and in vehicles without number plates with the aim of intimidating voters.
"We expect victory, but we have also seen so many vehicles running around without number plates. I think this is a concern that the police should take note of. Some of them are plain-clothes police officers, and their aim is to intimidate voters," he said.
While rejecting claims about unmarked vehicles, Nkanatha acknowledged that detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations were among officers deployed for the by-election and explained that they normally work in civilian clothing.
“Definitely the DCI officers are here with us and we know that they normally put of civilian clothing. So we can’t say we don’t have officers in civilian,” he said.
Nkanatha said adequate security personnel had been deployed to every polling station to maintain order and ensure voters cast their ballots without disruption.
Voting is currently underway across Ol Kalou, with no major incidents reported so far.