EC replies NDC: You were silent in 2016 when plants & animals represented voters in register

The Electoral Commission (EC) has slammed the National Democratic Congress (NDC), accusing the opposition party of “selective amnesia” over its recent demands for an independent forensic audit of the 2024 voters’ register.

The NDC has repeatedly claimed that the voters’ register for the 2024 general elections contains numerous discrepancies. They also allege that the EC has transferred thousands of voters to different constituencies without notifying them.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Thursday, September 12, 2024, Deputy EC Commissioner Samuel Tetteh questioned why the NDC remained silent in 2016 when concerns about the voters’ register were raised.

“Perhaps this is the first time the NDC has taken interest in the register. Otherwise, one would have expected them to call for such an audit of the 2016 register, which contained photos of plants and animals representing voters,” he said.

He expressed the opinion that the register had never been audited since 1992, arguing that “It is important to note that, contrary to what is being eluded, since 1992, the voters register has never been audited.”

Mr. Tetteh dismissed the NDC’s call for a forensic audit of the voters’ register, stating that the recently held Voters’ Register Exhibition Exercise was an effective and sufficient measure to correct all discrepancies.

He further reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to the Constitutional Instrument on the Registration of Voters (C.I. 91, as amended by C.I. 126).

“The Voter Register Exhibition Exercise itself serves as an audit, allowing for the correction of discrepancies identified through our established procedures,” Mr. Tettey said.

“The process we have in place is tried and tested. Our focus is on resolving issues through established channels rather than introducing unnecessary external audits,” the EC deputy chairperson reiterated.