Thursday, 10 October

Dec. 7 polls: We won't take anything apart from a clean register – NDC tells EC

Politics
The leadership of the NDC with the West African Elders

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on the Electoral Commission (EC) to fulfil its promise to address critical issues surrounding the 2024 Provisional Voters Register.

This follows the party's earlier press statement, which was released one week ago, highlighting their concerns about the EC's Information Technology (IT) system and the integrity of the voter register.

The NDC’s statement was a response to discussions from the Special Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting, held on 1st October 2024 at the Alisa Hotel.

That meeting, which was broadcast live at the NDC's request, revealed several troubling admissions from the EC regarding the state of the 2024 register.

In front of cameras, Ghanaians, and international observers, the EC acknowledged serious errors, including criminal transfers of voters, corrupted files, erroneous transfers, deleted voters, and vulnerabilities in its IT system that exposed it to manipulation.

The NDC's Director of Elections and IT, Dr Edward Omane Boamah in a statement dated October 8 reminded the EC of the party's commitment to anything but a clean register for the December 7, polls     

According to Dr Boamah,  “These errors are not mere mistakes,” 

The party has listed several key issues raised by the EC:

Criminal transfer of voters due to the absence of a “liveliness test.” Presence of corrupted files that have been “rectified and restored.” Erroneous addition of past transfers to the current 2024 register. Deleted voters whom the EC plans to move to a “Missing Voters” register. A vulnerable IT system prone to manipulation by officials and non-officials with access.

Following these revelations, the NDC's Functional Executive Committee agreed to the EC’s commitment to release an updated version of the provisional voters register for political parties to scrutinize.

They also supported the decision to re-exhibit the register, recommending that the process take place both online and offline at exhibition centres nationwide.

However, the NDC insisted on the necessity of a multi-stakeholder audit of the EC’s IT system to identify and address vulnerabilities that could undermine the credibility of the December 7, 2024, presidential and parliamentary elections.

The party warned that it remains the EC’s responsibility to ensure a clean and credible voter register, adding that the integrity of Ghana’s democracy is at stake.

The NDC also accused the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of seeking to undermine the democratic process through manipulation of the voter register.

The NDC further reminded the EC that the printing of ballot papers must be based on a certified voters register, not a provisional one, and called for strict adherence to the Public Procurement Act in selecting printers for election materials.

In conclusion, the NDC warned that they will not tolerate any irregularities in the process, especially when it comes to the integrity of the voter register and the EC's vulnerable IT system, which they referred to as the "Leaking Roof."

“We demand nothing less than a clean voters register,” the party declared, reiterating its call for transparency, accountability, and fairness ahead of the December 2024 elections.

Source: Classfmonline.com/Cecil Mensah