The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has asked the Electoral Commission (EC) to immediately halt all processes of printing ballot papers for the upcoming general elections.

According to the NDC National Chairperson, Johnson Asiedu Nketia the EC has not met the basic requirement of furnishing stakeholders with a finalised voters’ register, Electoral Code Book, and Ballot Statistics before proceeding to print ballot papers.

Speaking to the media in Ho during his tour of the Volta Region, he expressed disgust at the EC serving the party with a letter to make available agents to participate in the printing of ballot papers on Friday, 11th October 2024, despite some outstanding issues.

“Whatever plan they have is based on printing ballot papers because ballot papers must be printed based on the finalised register and finalised electoral code book and ballot statistics which are made available to all stakeholders so we know you don’t have anything to hide”, he said.

He recounted that the EC acknowledged that there were some vulnerabilities with its Information Technology systems, which resulted in the wrong transfer of voters, promising to fix the system and clean the voter register at the last televised IPAC meeting.

“When the Electoral Commission undertook to clean the register and exhibit it for corrections to be made so we get a finalised register, we took it with a pinch of salt.

"But we were dealing with public opinions, we didn't wish to create any impression that we were not allowing them to correct their mistakes.

“The opportunity that has been given them to correct their mistakes, so we move on with our democracy is now being abused”, he stressed.

He questioned the EC’s quest to print ballot papers based on a draft voters’ register, indicating the act planks the reputation of the election organizing body into disrepute.

Mr Nketia called the attention of civil society organisations, labour organisations, and other relevant institutions to the act he said the NDC identifies as a “serious occurrence” in the build-up to the upcoming general elections.

He directed the EC to furnish the stakeholders with the finalised register, electoral code book and ballot statistics as prescribed by law before going ahead to print the ballot papers.

“The electoral code books are the books that tell you polling station by polling station. The number of voters in each of those polling stations and that will guide the composition of the ballot statistics and then before you proceed to print it [ballot papers].

“We do not have the code books as we stand here, to guide us as to the number of voters in each polling station for which we will be printing ballot papers. We don't have the ballot statistics, and we are going into printing”, he lamented.

Mr Nketia alleged the EC by this act among others is plotting to rig the elections in favour of the New Patriotic Party.

“We are back at the guesswork the Electoral Commission has been approaching issues. And I don't believe it is guesswork. It is a well-orchestrated plan to position the ruling party in a favorable situation hoping that they can win this election.

“Let me tell them, no matter what you do, no matter what you say this election will never be won by NPP and its partners in Electoral Commission.

"A word to the wise is enough. You better go back and operate according to your own rules, your own laws and your own commitments to put this country at peace.

“Elections should not be a matter of life and death. But for each passing day, the Commission conducts itself as if we all came here to rent a country and that somebody, somehow, we will leave and leave the mess to the landlord to clear.

"Let them take it from me that we are in together and this is our country, we don't have any other country. We want to create a mess and run away, you will come back to fix your mess”, he concluded.