Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC) is a critical institution in the country’s democratic process, responsible for conducting free and fair elections.
However, if the EC is perceived as incompetent and biased towards a particular political party, it can have far-reaching consequences for the country’s democracy.
Accordingly, the NDC has argued that the ruling NPP’s approval of the EC’s actions suggests a suspicious collaboration, given the NPP’s incompetence and corruption.
Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, Director of Elections and IT for the NDC described the EC headquarters as a hub of criminal activity that requires cleansing, which can only be achieved after the December 7, 2024 elections.
“Fellow Ghanaians, no matter how the EC and their IT team try to manipulate the data, NDC’s checks and balances shall secure our collective victory in the December polls… We are ahead of the EC. Why is the EC not returning our hard drive which has been in their custody for the past one week after our encounter with them last week Friday? An encounter that they blocked the media from covering.
“EC, return our hard drive now! Ask the Error-toral Commission (EC) why they’re still keeping our hard drive at their corporate office after seven (7) eventful days!”
Dr. Edward Omane Boamah
Dr. Omane Boamah emphasized that the NDC insists on a three-step process: an independent forensic audit of the voters register, submission of NDC’s findings for audit, and re-exhibition of the register after the audit.
He pointed out that the NDC had left its hard drive with the EC and requested the updated register, which they then challenged at the meeting, exposing flaws when EC’s IT Consultant, Dr. Yaw Ofori Adjei, tried to defend it.
The NDC stalwart emphasized that the Electoral Commission’s refusal to conduct a forensic audit and provide the updated register has eroded trust and cooperation, undermining the progress made in last Friday’s meeting.
He emphasized that the EC has consistently acknowledged the errors pointed out by the NDC, including the notorious CORELDRAW arithmetic mistakes, and has never disproven the NDC’s claims.
He stated that instead, the EC has begun justifying its alleged manipulation of the register before the NDC even fully discloses the extent of the errors.
Dr. Omane Boamah criticized the EC for emulating the outgoing NPP government’s shameful strategy of justifying current errors by referencing past mistakes.
He also lamented the EC’s glorification of its deliberate and massive errors, indicative of a decaying institution.
“Errors which would have gone unnoticed but for NDC’s EagleEyes”. – Dr. Omane Boamah
Electoral Register Irregularities Exposed
Dr. Edward Omane Boamah revealed that the NDC’s findings on the register uncovered a series of discrepancies, including illegal transfers, untraceable voter paths, removed voters, and improperly transferred voters.
He argued that these issues, combined with corrupted files, raise serious concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
As such, Dr. Omane Boamah maintained that an independent forensic audit is necessary to uncover the full extent of manipulation, including the scope of illegal voter transfers, the number of affected voters, and the accuracy of quantifying the impact.
“System Vulnerabilities: What specific vulnerabilities in the Electoral Commission’s systems – Human and Technical – allowed for these unauthorized transfers? Are there specific protocols or security measures that were bypassed or ignored? Specifically, will the EC’s attempts to address these weaknesses prevent further manipulations ahead of the December 07, elections? If yes, what prevented the EC from not instituting such measures?”
“Timeliness of Provisional Register: Why was there such an avoidable delay in providing the Provisional Voters Register to the NDC?”
Dr. Edward Omane Boamah
He further stated that an independent forensic audit is necessary to assess the impact of the Electoral Commission’s mistakes on election fairness and integrity, and to learn from past errors to prevent similar issues in the future.
Dr. Omane Boamah stressed that the Electoral Commission must provide a timeline for correcting the issues to ensure a reliable, credible, and accurate voter register before printing the registers and materials.
He emphasized that an independent forensic audit is crucial to ensure the credibility of Ghana’s electoral process and reflect the true will of the people.
Accordingly, the NDC stalwart cautioned that the Electoral Commission must stop rationalizing its errors and conduct the audit immediately.
“Join the Enough Is Enough Demo coming Tuesday, 17th September!” – Dr. Omane Boamah.
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