NDC Embarks On Nationwide Demo Against EC Today; Demands Audit Of ‘Faulty’ Voter Register

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is embarking on a nationwide demonstration against the elections management body, the Electoral Commission today Tuesday, September 17, 2024.

The protest to be held in all sixteen regional capitals of the country is to demand from the EC to subject the provisional voter register for the pending December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections to a forensic audit.

Following the recent exhibition of the provisional voter register, the NDC cited some irregularities and discrepancies which the party believes can compromise the integrity of the polls if not corrected.

It is therefore insisting that the EC cleans the register through a validation process in order to present a credible voters register for Ghanaians to have a peaceful election.

The NDC said the protest will be slow and peaceful to ensure that every participant, irrespective of their ability, can fully partake to demand the EC conducts a forensic audit on the voters register for the upcoming December 7 general elections.

According to the party, all the necessary measures including an agreement with the police on the routes for the protest have been reached.

Leaders of the NDC are expected to submit petitions to the EC’s regional offices and headquarters in Accra, as the party express frustration over what they believe to be flaws in the voter register ahead of the 2024 elections.

Despite the concerns raised by the NDC, the Electoral Commission described the NDC’s planned the demostration as ‘misguided and premature’ since the alleged ireegularities were not new to the electoral process in Ghana.

The EC said the law provides remedies for such discrepancies to be corrected under the Constitutional Instrument for registration of voters, C.I. 91, which has been updated by C.I. 126, and that the law envisaged that discrepancies may arise following a registration exercise and  therefore provided remedies for fixing them.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Police service has pledged its readiness to maintain law and order during the nationwide protest organized by the NDC.

Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, September 16, 2024, ACP Grace Ansah-Akrofi, Director of Police Public Affairs, assured the public that the police are fully equipped to provide security throughout the demonstration.

By: Christian Kpesese