The Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has expressed frustration and disappointment over the Electoral Commission’s (EC) silence regarding their petition for a forensic audit of the 2024 voters register and its IT system.
This comes after the NDC staged nationwide demonstrations across all the 16 regions of Ghana on September 17, 2024, to voice out their concerns over alleged discrepancies in the voter register.
The NDC’s concerns stem from alleged irregularities and discrepancies in the Electoral Commission’s handling of the register.
These include unauthorized voter transfers, missing and deleted voter data, untraceable transfer paths, and corrupt files with missing names and photographs of registered voters.
The party claims these flaws could compromise the democratic process and unfairly tilt the results of the December 7, 2024, general elections.
Petition
As part of their demonstrations, the NDC submitted formal petitions to the EC offices in all 16 regions, stressing the need for urgent action, including a thorough forensic audit of the entire voter registration process and the IT systems used by the EC.
The petition also gave the EC a one-week ultimatum to respond to the issues raised.
EC’s Silence
However, the Electoral Commission has not responded to the NDC’s request, sparking further concerns among party members.
NDC concerns, in a statement on Wednesday, to the EC, the General Secretary of NDC, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey said, “We bring you greetings from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and trust that this letter finds you well.
“We refer to our petition of 17th September 2024, NDC/HQ/E/69/VOL2/33 in which we among other things, requested for a forensic audit of the voters’ register and its IT system”.
“This follow up letter has become necessary due to the fact that, the Commission has not had the courtesy to reply our petition till date. Neither has the Commission officially responded to the serious issues we have raised in the petition and the request for a forensic audit thereof”.
“Wes are by this letter reminding the Commission of the critical importance of a credible voters’ register to the impending December 7 polls, hence the need for an audit of the electoral roll and its IT system to identify the vulnerabilities therein and effectively address the numerous anomalies we have put before you.
“We respectfully await your swift response and/or action on this urgent matter of considerable public interest.
“It is our hope that your response will be in accordance- with your own declared motto; Transparency, Fairness and Integrity”.
-BY Daniel Bampoe