Call For Voters Register Forensic Audit Misguided- EC

The Electoral Commission (EC) has characterized as misguided, efforts by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to have the Voters Register for the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections audited by an independent body.

At a press conference on Thursday, September 12, 2024, the Deputy Commissioner of Operations, Samuel Tettey said his outfit is taking steps to correct all errors in the register.

He argued that even after the wish of the NDC is fulfilled, the EC will be responsible for undertaking the cleaning which it is already underway.

“The Commission is if the view that such an audit will add no value whatsoever in a well-defined, tried and tested process documented for the cleaning and the strengthening of the Register. The question is, ‘Should the forensic audit be conducted, who will fix the discrepancies in the register?’ The answer is: it is the same Commission that will fix the discrepancies and that is what we are doing. It is for this reason that the EC is of the view that the call for a forensic audit is misguided.”

Mr Tettey indicated that the EC detected the inaccuracies in the register long before the opposition party did during the Exhibition of the Register last month.

“The Voters Register was recently exhibited as part of processes exhibited leading to the preparation of the final Voters Register ahead of the 2024 General Elections. In their communication, the NDC identified five issues with the register. The NDC further stressed that it concerns they have identified would warrant the Electoral Commission to accept a forensic audit of the Voters Register to assuage the fears of stakeholders. In addition, the NDC requested for re-exhibition of the Voters Register.

“The Commission informed the NDC that the discrepancies they had detected were not new. The Commission noted that it had detected the same issues and had taken steps to correct them. The Commission reiterated that the essence of the Exhibition Exercise was to address all the issues with the Voters Register and assured the NDC that issues identified were being resolved.”

Demand
Under what is called “Enough is Enough Demo”, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will hit the streets of the regional capitals of Ghana next week to demand a forensic audit of the country’s electoral roll.

The protest is scheduled for Tuesday, September 17, 2024, the NDC has announced.

The opposition party has long flagged the register as “unfit for purpose” arguing the roll is full of errors and is certain the audit will answer all their questions.

According to the country’s largest opposition party, their demand for the audit is non-negotiable and essential for safeguarding the credibility of Ghana’s electoral process.

Below are Six Questions the NDC seeks answers to:
1. The Extent of Manipulation: How widespread is the issue of illegal voter transfers? If the Pusiga EC Office could transfer voters from Tamale South Constituency without proper authorization, what is the scale of similar incidents across the country? How many voters might have been affected, and how can this be accurately quantified?

2. System Vulnerabilities: What specific vulnerabilities in the Electoral Commission’s systems – Human and Technical – allowed for these unauthorized transfers? Are there specific protocols or security measures that were bypassed or ignored? Specifically, will the EC’s attempts to address these weaknesses prevent further manipulations ahead of the December 07, elections? If yes, what prevented the EC from not instituting such measures?

3. Timeliness of Provisional Register: Why was there such an avoidable delay in providing the Provisional Voters Register to the NDC?

4. Impact of the Mistakes on the Elections: What is the potential impact of the admitted mistakes and errors by the Electoral Commission on the fairness of the upcoming elections? Will the mistakes compromise the integrity of the election results?

5. Historical Comparisons: The EC generalized its mistakes by referencing errors made by past Commissions. How does this comparison help address the current concerns, and what lessons have been learned from previous errors to prevent similar issues in the future?

6. Timeline for Corrections: What is the timeline for addressing these issues in order to derive a reliable, credible, accurate and fit-for-purpose voter register before printing of the registers, and other materials will commence as originally planned and agreed at IPAC?