The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has reacted to the Electoral Commission of Ghana’s response to its demand for a forensic audit into the Provisional Voters Register for the pending December 7, 2024, general elections.
The Electoral Commission (EC), during a press briefing in Accra on Thursday, September 12, 2024, while assuring the NDC that their concerns about the voter register would be resolved, said there was no need for a forensic audit of the register.
A Deputy Director of the EC, Samuel Tetteh, explained that it has the expertise to handle all the issues raised about the register, just as it has done in the past.
He added that the demonstration which has been announced by the NDC and is scheduled for Tuesday, September 17, 2024, was not needed and would only heighten the tension in the country.
Reacting to this, the Director of Elections and IT at the NDC, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, said that his party’s position remains unchanged.
He indicated that the demonstration would come off, accusing the EC of trying to manipulate the data on the voter register.
He said that the commission, at a recent meeting, informed the NDC that the irregularities found in the voter register had been resolved and took the hard drive it (the EC) gave to the party to update the register on it, but to date, the drive has not been returned.
The NDC elections director added that the demands of his party, including a forensic audit of the register and it being exhibited for the second time, remain unchanged.
“After our meeting last week with the EC about the unfit-for-purpose voters register, three (3) INTERCONNECTEDLY DEPENDENT/CONDITIONAL issues stood out:
1. Our non-negotiable demand for an independent forensic audit,
2. Submission of our findings for the forensic audit, and
3. RE-EXHIBITION of the register after the forensic audit.
The 4th issue is the UNDENIABLE fact that we (NDC) left our hard drive with the EC, and requested that they provide us with their so-called updated register,” Dr. Omane Boamah wrote on Facebook on September 13, 2024.
He also indicated that the refusal of the commission for a forensic audit of the register has eroded the trust and cooperation that was seen at the recent meeting.
He added that the EC has also admitted to the errors the NDC has pointed out and its updated register, which was showcased at the meeting, still had the errors.
“Never mind that we started punching holes in their so-called updated register at the meeting when Dr. Yaw Ofori Adjei, one of their IT Consultants, unsuccessfully tried to rely on it to answer a question. The Electoral Commission must understand that on the basis of their refusal to accept our request for a forensic audit and also by refusing to provide us with their so-called updated register, they have eliminated the trust and the spirit of cooperation that characterised last Friday’s meeting.
“The immutable truth is that the EC has always admitted to the errors we (NDC) point out! Including their infamous CORELDRAW arithmetic errors admission. Never have they been able to prove our #EAGLEEYES wrong!”
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