The National Director of Research and Elections for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has criticised the National Democratic Congress' call for a forensic audit of the voter register.

Mr Gary Nimako described the call "as baseless and unnecessary," adding that "it does not hold water."

In an interview on Joy FM's Top Story on Thursday, September 12, he argued that the Electoral Commission (EC) is following its legal mandate under C.I. 91 regulation 22, which outlines the process of compiling and distributing a provisional voter register to political parties for review.

He noted that the NDC has questioned the EC’s ability to provide accurate figures for the provisional register, despite the EC's transparency regarding minor infractions.

He believes the NDC’s concerns are aimed at creating confusion.

“Dr Rashid mentioned that the EC has not been able to tell them the total number of registered voters on the provisional register given. They've been able to tell us that there is a certain 15,000, a certain 243,000 of a certain infraction, why are they not able to compute the provisional register of all the polling stations on the database they have been given and that they doubt it. Meanwhile, the EC has been very categorical that there is nothing of that sort. The NDC wants to create unnecessary confusion," he stressed.

Additionally, Mr Nimako pointed out that the NPP is guided by legal frameworks, including C.I. 91, 126, and 127, in addressing voter register issues.

Read also: Our demo against EC won’t be violent – NDC assures

For several weeks, the NDC has voiced concerns about irregularities in the voter register, culminating in plans for a nationwide protest on September 17 after the EC refused to allow an independent audit.

These calls intensified after the EC acknowledged that some district officers had illegally transferred votes, a situation it claims to have corrected while penalizing the involved officers.

The NDC's National Chair, Mr Asiedu Nketiah, also noted the lack of updates on investigations into the theft of Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs).

Meanwhile, the Accra Regional Police Command has reached an agreement with the opposition party for its planned protest against the EC on Tuesday, September 17, 2024.

In a letter signed by Assistant Commissioner of Police and Deputy Regional Commander Emmanuel Aryee Akonnor, addressed to the NDC, the police confirmed the demonstration would begin at 7:00 a.m.