The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has strongly condemned the National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s demand for a forensic audit of the voter’s register in the lead-up to the 2024 general elections in December.
The NPP’s General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua, described the NDC’s request as “hypocritical and mischievous,” accusing the opposition party of trying to create unnecessary tension in the country.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, September 19, Justin Kodua expressed the view that the NDC’s call for an independent audit of the Electoral Commission’s (EC) provisional register was uncalled for. According to him, the opposition is only making such demands because it foresees defeat in the upcoming election.
“Mr. Mahama, why are you and the NDC not allowing the Electoral Commission to decide what to do but are embarking on a demonstration?” he questioned. “In our view, it is hypocritical for the NDC to be ordering the Electoral Commission to conduct an independent forensic audit of the provisional register,” he added.
The NPP General Secretary went on to challenge the NDC to provide concrete evidence of any discrepancies in the electoral register if indeed such errors exist. He urged the NDC to present these to the Electoral Commission for verification instead of escalating tensions through protests.
The NDC, however, has persistently called for a forensic audit of the voter’s register. Their demands grew louder after the EC acknowledged that a district officer had illegally transferred votes. Although the Commission corrected the anomaly and penalized the officer involved, the NDC insisted that a thorough independent audit is necessary to ensure the integrity of the register.
The opposition party intensified its protest over the EC’s refusal to carry out the audit, submitting petitions to both Parliament and the Electoral Commission, calling for a more robust and credible register ahead of the December 2024 elections.
Justin Kodua also addressed the NDC’s recent “Enough is Enough” demonstration against the Electoral Commission. He argued that the protest was unjustified, as the NDC has yet to provide any evidence supporting its claims of irregularities in the provisional voters’ register.
“Many Ghanaians and the NPP cannot comprehend why the NDC has not submitted to the EC detailed information on its so-called irregularities, discrepancies, and unauthorized entries in the provisional voters’ register despite several appeals by the EC,” Mr. Kodua said.
Citing the NDC’s petition, he pointed out that the opposition claimed to have discovered 243,540 illegal transfers, 3,957 deleted names, and over 15,000 unidentified voter transfer cards in the provisional register. However, Kodua highlighted that 13 days after the NDC met with the EC on September 6, 2024, they have still not provided any documents to back these allegations.
“If the NDC has any evidence of illegal transfers, why have they not submitted such evidence to be reversed by the EC? We believe strongly that the nationwide demonstration by the NDC would have been justified had the EC failed to act after receiving evidence from the NDC on the alleged irregularities and discrepancies,” he concluded.
The dispute over the integrity of the voter’s register is likely to remain a contentious issue as Ghana heads into the 2024 elections, with both major parties taking entrenched position.
Source: Newstitbits.com