The Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been consistent in its stance that a forensic audit of the voter register is unnecessary, instead advocating for the use of established processes to verify the register’s accuracy.
This position was reiterated by Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, then party’s General Secretary, in 2015, when he presented a position paper on the integrity of Ghana’s 2012 Biometric Voters’ Register.
However, recent developments have led to a shift in the NDC’s demands.
The party is now calling for an independent audit of the voter register, citing alleged irregularities and concerns over the integrity of the Electoral Commission’s (EC) setup.
This demand has been met with resistance from the EC, which has rejected the NDC’s call for a forensic audit.
The NDC’s concerns over the voter register’s integrity were highlighted by the current National Chairman of the NDC, Asiedu Nketiah in a recent interview.
He expressed frustration over the lack of transparency and the involvement of individuals with past affiliations to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the EC.
Asiedu Nketiah claimed that these individuals cannot operate EC machines effectively, and therefore, an independent audit is necessary to ensure the register’s credibility.
The NDC has announced a nationwide demonstration, dubbed the ‘enough is enough demonstrations,’ scheduled for Tuesday, September 17, 2024, to press home their demands.
The demonstration will span all 16 regional capitals across Ghana and is seen as a last resort to force the EC to address the party’s concerns.
The EC says there is no merit in NDC’s allegation.
The NDC Chairman, Asiedu Nketiah lamented the need for clarity on the issue. “The EC is ignoring the fact that the system is robust. What we are saying is based on the robustness of the system. It’s not about who conducts the investigation but understanding the source of the leakage.”
The NDC’s demands for an audit of the voter register have been met with skepticism by some, who argue that the party is trying to discredit the EC and undermine the electoral process.
However, the NDC maintains that its concerns are genuine and that an independent audit is necessary to ensure the integrity of the voter register.
In a surprising twist, Asiedu Nketiah’s previous stance on the issue has been resurrected, with some arguing that his 2015 position paper on the voter register’s integrity is still relevant today.
In the paper, Asiedu Nketiah emphasized the reliability of the Biometric Voters’ Register and argued that the existing mechanisms were sufficient to guarantee the integrity of the electoral process.
However, the current situation demands a different approach, according to the NDC.
-BY Daniel Bampoe