The former Ghanaian president is demanding the EC makes full disclosure of the report of investigations into the hacking of its IT system on Election Day on December 7, 2016.

“If they have investigated they should let us know what compromised the system [and] what steps are being taken to safeguard the system being compromised again,” John Dramani Mahama said at the Business School of Oxford University Friday.

The elections management body kept the nation on tenterhooks after it failed to announce certified results of the 2016 polls after it closed several hours after.

The Chairperson then, Charlotte Osei, at a news conference claimed their electronic transmission system had been "compromised" for which reason they had to rely on a manual system of transmission.

A week after the polls that saw the opposition New Patriotic Party convincingly beat the incumbent National Democratic Congress, Deputy Chairperson of the Commission, Georgina Opoku Amankwaa, said the figures kept changing anytime they were keyed into the system.

Charlotte Osei (middle) was removed from office by President Akufo-Addo. She is flanked by Amadu Sulley (left) and Georgina Opoku Amankwaa

Following Charlotte Osei’s removal from office as well as two of her deputies - Amadu Sulley and Ms Georgina Opoku Amankwaa- by President Nana Akufo-Addo, for stated misbehaviour, her successor has yet to comment on the aftermath of the investigations.

Read also: IEA boss Jean Mensah nominated EC Chair

Jean Mensa replaced Charlotte Osei as EC Chair on July 23, 2018

Three years on, the EC is yet to furnish Ghanaians with what got it's IT system compromised.  

Delivering a lecture at the Business School of Oxford University on the topic, 'Democracy & Elections in Contemporary Africa', John Mahama said making known the outcome of the investigations, would help safeguard the integrity of the upcoming 2020 elections.

“At least if they have, they haven’t shared those findings with us. It was important for us to find out what had happened so that we forestall any disputes around the IT system in the next elections 2020,” he explained.

Read also: EC under pressure over failure to investigate 2016 election hack

NDC’s position

Speaking Monday on Newsnight on Joy FM, the NDC’s Director of Elections, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah said the call by the former President, who is again contesting the 2020 elections, is “fair” and “reasonable”.

Elvis Afriyie Ankrah is Director of Elections for NDC

That he noted, will further boost the confidence of the people and the contending parties as far as the next general elections are concerned.

“Any reasonable person would want to have clarity…So these are very legitimate concerns,” Afriyie Ankrah argued.

NPP reacts

However, the New Patriotic Party says whether or not the EC publishes the reports of its investigations, will not change the final results of the polls as announced by the Commission, which also tallies with what the opposition party then, collated.

Evans Nimako is DIrector of Elections for the NPP

As far as the NPP is concerned coupled by the mechanisms they rolled out on the day of voting “there was nothing wrong with the results,” Director of Elections, Evans Nimako told the host of Newsnight, Evans Mensah.

Mr Nimako said the NPP adequately prepared itself for the 2016 elections and took a keen interest in the EC’s activities and put measures in place for that.

“We monitored the legal frameworks, we watched the EC’s calendar and we matched them accordingly,” Nimako added.