Anomalies in voter register “largely” resolved — EC

The Electoral Commission (EC) says it has “largely resolved” discrepancies in the Voters Register to be used for the 2024 General Election.

The Commission said issues such as inclusion of omitted names, objection to names of unqualified voters on the register, removal of names of deceased voters from the register, and replacement of poor quality or damaged Voter ID Cards were being corrected.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Thursday, Mr Samuel Tettey, Deputy EC Chair in charge of Operations, said the Commission had adopted a transparent process involving key officers at all levels with the sole purpose of ensuring that all registered voters had their names in the Voters Register.

“It is important to note that, all of the discrepancies were identified by the Commission’s own internal processes. I am pleased to note that as we speak they have largely been resolved,” he said.

The Commission’s response followed some concerns raised by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) about the credibility of the Voters
Register, after some voters were transferred without their consent.

The NDC consequently requested for an independent forensic audit of the Information Technology systems of the EC to guarantee the credibility of the Register ahead of the December 7 polls.

The party has announced plans to embark on a nationwide demonstration on September 17, 2024, to demand what its officials described as free and fair electoral process.

Mr Tettey said the request for a forensic audit of the Voters Register was “misguided” and “premature”.

He said the Voters Exhibition Exercise offered an avenue for the auditing of the Register.

“The Exhibition Exercise enables citizens to verify their details and allows for the unearthing of discrepancies in the Register. Additionally, it provides for the correction of discrepancies in the Register. This is not new. This has been the practice since 1992. The process of cleaning and strengthening the Voters Register is well defined by law,” he said.

The EC appealed to Former President John Dramani Mahama, Flagbearer of the NDC, to bring the NDC to the discussion table, expressing concern that the planned demonstration would lead to tensions.

The Commission said the best way to resolve the challenges was “at the discussion table” and not through protests.

“The Commission would like to assure the Public and all stakeholders that all identified discrepancies with the Provisional Voters Register are being corrected. To date, the Register is almost near perfect as most of the discrepancies have been fully resolved,” Mr Tettey said.