Following the Special Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has reiterated several key concerns regarding the 2024 Provisional Voters Register, based on admissions made by the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana.
The NDC has highlighted a series of significant issues that have raised alarms over the integrity of the electoral process.
Among the major concerns is the illegal transfer of voters, which the EC attributed to the absence of a “liveliness test” technology, a problem that has affected areas like Pusiga and other constituencies.
Additionally, the NDC flagged the erroneous inclusion of previous voter transfers in the 2024 transfer list, as well as corrupted files found in the Provisional Voters Register, which the EC claims have since been rectified.
Another troubling issue involves deleted voters, whom the EC plans to place on a separate “Missing Voters” register. Perhaps most critically, the NDC expressed deep concerns over the vulnerabilities in the EC’s IT system, which it says could be open to manipulation and infiltration by both officials and non-officials with access to login credentials.
Given these concerns, the FEC has decided to accept the Electoral Commission’s commitment to release a corrected and updated version of the 2024 Provisional Voters Register for review by political parties within one week.
The NDC welcomed the EC’s decision to re-exhibit the updated register but recommended that the re-exhibition be conducted both online and at exhibition centers to ensure maximum transparency and accessibility.
In addition, the NDC is calling for a multi-stakeholder and inter-party examination of the EC’s IT system to address the vulnerabilities that have been acknowledged by the Commission.
The party warned that if these flaws are not rectified, they could be exploited by malicious actors, potentially compromising the integrity of the December 7, 2024 elections.
The NDC maintains that the security of the EC’s IT system is paramount to ensuring a free, fair, and credible election and urges the Commission to take swift action to safeguard the electoral process from potential threats.
Read the Press Statement Below.
01/10/2024
NDC POSITION ON MATTERS ARISING FROM IPAC, RELATIVE TO THE 2024 PROVISIONAL VOTERS’ REGISTER.
Following the Special Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) Meeting held today, Tuesday, 1st October 2024, to deliberate on the 2024 Provisional Voters Register, the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the National Democratic Congress deems it fit to restate the following significant admissions by the Electoral Commission of Ghana:
1. Illegal transfer of voters due to the lack of a liveliness test technology, as occurred in Pusiga and other Constituencies,
2. Erroneous addition of previous transfers to the current 2024 transfer list?
3. Presence of corrupted files in the 2024 Provisional Voters’ Register, which the Commission claims have been rectified and restored,
4. Deleted voters who the Commission wishes to place on a Missing Voters register, and
5. A vulnerable EC IT system that is susceptible to data manipulation and infiltration from officials and non-officials of the Electoral Commission who have access to login credentials.
With this background, the Functional Executive Committee of the NDC has deliberated and decided to accept the EC’s promise to release to political parties, the corrected/updated version of the 2024 Provisional Voters Register for scrutiny within one week.
FEC further welcomes the decision by the Electoral Commission to re-exhibit the updated Provisional Voters’ Register. We however recommend that the re-exhibition exercise should be conducted online and offline at the exhibition centres.
Additionally, the NDC demands a multi-stakeholder and interparty examination of the IT system of the Electoral Commission with the aim of addressing the vulnerabilities that the EC itself has admitted to, which vulnerabilities led to several of the anomalies we have raised. Clearly, the vulnerabilities in the IT system of the Electoral Commission can be exploited by criminals to compromise the integrity of the December 07, 2024 elections if not addressed.
SIGNED.
FIFI FIAVI KWETEY
GENERAL SECRETARY
