The Director of Elections for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has raised concerns about the credibility of the Electoral Commission's (EC) voters' register ahead of the upcoming December 7 elections.

Dr Edward Omane Boamah in a Facebook post claims that the current register is "unfit for purpose" and calls for a forensic audit or thorough parliamentary investigation to address what he describes as "incurably defective" anomalies.

According to him, the EC failed to release the voters' register to the NDC on time before the exhibition exercise, a move he believes was deliberate.

Despite this, he says the NDC's diligence and scrutiny during the exhibition exercise have revealed several issues with the register that, if not resolved, could jeopardise the credibility of the 2024 elections.

“The register compiled by the EC is unfit for purpose. Without a forensic audit or thorough parliamentary investigation of the EC's voters register, the register will remain incurably defective," he stated.

"Forget about adjudication! It's obvious the register has deliberately been tampered with!"

Key Anomalies Uncovered

Dr. Omane Boamah detailed several anomalies found during the exercise, which he believes point to a flawed electoral process. These anomalies include:

1. Missing Names: Registered voters whose names are absent from the voters' register.
2. Misplaced Qualified Voters: Individuals who are qualified to vote but have been wrongly placed on the Exception List or the Multiple List.
3. Unremoved Disqualified Voters: Persons who were disqualified due to multiple registrations or successful challenges but remain on the Main Provisional Voters Register (PVR).
4. Unauthorised Transfers: People who have been transferred without their knowledge, in addition to old transfers still appearing on the register.
5. Polling Station Mismatches: Voters who have been moved from one polling station to another without their knowledge.

Dr. Omane Boamah also criticised the "awkward process" that allowed voters to apply for proxy voting earlier this year without verifying their biometrics.

Calls for Action

The NDC's Director of Elections wants an immediate investigation by Ghana's Parliament into the EC's handling of the voters' register.

He stressed that if Parliament fails to act, both Ghanaians and the international community must pressure the EC to allow a forensic audit of its system, including the register.

"As contained in the uploaded petition, the Parliament of Ghana must investigate the Electoral Commission.

"If Parliament fails, Ghanaians together with the international community must exert enough pressure on the EC to permit a forensic audit of their system, including the register," he emphasised.

He also reminded the public that critical issues such as the theft of Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) laptops, which occurred under CCTV surveillance at the EC headquarters, remain unresolved.

Similarly, concerns over missing or stolen Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) continue to linger.

Dr. Omane Boamah hinted at a series of public fora and demonstrations in the pipeline to further address these concerns and push for transparency and accountability in the electoral process.

Editor's Note:

Here is what the Public Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations 2016 (C.I. 91) provides.