EC faces backlash for failing to release voter register
The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana is facing intense criticism from political parties for failing to provide certified copies of the provisional electoral register ahead of the 2024 general elections.
With the voter exhibition exercise set to begin on August 20, representatives from at least three political parties have descended on the EC’s office to demand their copies of the electoral rolls.
Mark Awudu, National Youth Organizer of the PNC, expressed his disappointment, saying, “On the 8th of this month, they wrote to us that we should come on the 14th. On Friday, they asked us to come on Sunday, and today is Monday. So we are here to demand it. This is not a protest, so the police need no notification from us.”
Mr Awudu emphasised that no political party should be complacent, stating, “No political party is asleep as far as I am concerned because if you are a serious political party and you are really interested in contesting the 2024 elections, you shouldn’t be sleeping. You should be here.”
This follows an earlier criticism by the Director of Elections for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Omane Boamah.
He accused the EC of incompetence and deliberately delaying the register’s release.
In a Facebook post, he alleged that the delay was an attempt to provide political parties with a substandard register.
They are not the only persons to raise concerns about the issue.
NDC flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, also echoed his worries, stating, “The exhibition of the register starts in four days. We should have received those provisional registers by now so that we can help our members check if their names are there. They have asked us to come today for the hard drives with the provisional register. I am calling on the Electoral Commission to make sure that we get the hard drives with the provisional register today so that we can send them to the constituencies and let our executives start helping our people to check and make sure their names are there.”