EC: Voter register processes not exhausted to justify forensic audit

The Electoral Commission (EC) has once again rejected the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s calls for a forensic audit of the provisional voters’ register.

The election management body asserts that the legal and administrative processes established to clean the register have not been fully exhausted, making a forensic audit unjustifiable at this stage.

This response was articulated in a letter to NDC chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, following a petition submitted by the party after their demonstration on 17 September.

“As a Commission, we are of the view that the existing legal and administrative processes for cleaning the PVR have not been fully exhausted to justify the call for a forensic audit”, the EC said in a statement dated 26 September.

The EC emphasised its commitment to fulfilling its mandate and urged both the NDC and the public to trust the established processes for addressing any concerns regarding the register. It reassured that the majority of discrepancies identified in the PVR have been addressed, referencing a similar successful process during the 2020 general elections, which will be replicated for the upcoming 2024 elections.

To promote transparency and collaboration, the EC extended an invitation to the NDC for discussions. The Commission believes that this dialogue will allow the NDC to observe firsthand the steps taken to resolve the identified discrepancies.

The EC further addressed issues related to illegal voter transfers, revealing that its district officer in Pusiga, Upper East Region, has been dismissed due to 38 illegal transfers, which have since been rectified.

In response to the NDC’s demand for a re-exhibition of the voters’ register, the Commission stated that, due to time constraints, it cannot conduct a physical exhibition but will implement an online exhibition of the register until Election Day.

Reporting by Jonathan Ofori, Asaase Newsroom

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