The Center for Social Justice (CSJ) is urging a forensic audit of Ghana’s Electoral Register, raising alarm over significant discrepancies that threaten the credibility of the upcoming 2024 elections.

Following a recent meeting organised by the National Democratic Congress (NDC), CSJ uncovered numerous errors in the voter registration process, including repeated voter transfers and deleted voter details.

Key issues identified in the provisional 2024 voter register include:

• Over 240,000 instances of repeated voter transfers.

• More than 15,000 “ghost voters” with unidentified transfer paths.

• Nearly 4,000 voter details were deleted from the 2023 register without explanation.

• Corrupt files missing voter names and photos, compromising data integrity.

These findings, compounded by the loss of Biometric Voter Devices under the Electoral Commission’s (EC) care, have led to serious concerns about the transparency of the electoral process.

The CSJ is calling on the EC to take swift action by:

1. Commissioning a forensic audit, led by an independent body agreed upon by all political parties.

2. Engaging political stakeholders to address concerns and share audit results.

3. Launching voter education campaigns to build public trust and promote informed participation.

Theodore Albright, CSJ’s Fellow in Governance, Legal, and Constitutional Affairs, emphasised the importance of transparency, stating, “A forensic audit by an independent body is essential to restore trust in our electoral process.”

The CSJ warns that failure to act will severely undermine Ghana’s democracy and be seen as an attempt to suppress voters’ voices.