The Electoral Commission says that it is not against holding another physical exhibition of the corrected Provisional Voter’s Register (PVR) at over 40,000 centres. According to the Commission, the three to four weeks needed for printing and distribution makes this impractical given the short time remaining before the general election.
Apart from demanding a forensic audit of the voter’s register, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has asked the Electoral Commission to re-exhibit the 2024 voters’ register due to discrepancies found during the recent voter exhibition exercise, including the illegal transfer of voters.
The EC investigated and confirmed that some 38 transfers were made at Pusiga in the Upper East Region using an official’s credentials. In response to the EC’s refusal to allow a forensic audit of the register, the NDC held a nationwide demonstration on September 17
In an official response to the NDC’s petition dated September 26, the Electoral Commission stated, “The Commission intends to implement an online exhibition of the PVR at no cost to registered voters. Voters will be able to report anomalies in their details within a time frame that will be made available to the public. The voter’s register will be displayed online until Election Day.”
The Commission assured the NDC and the general public that it has largely resolved the discrepancies identified in the PVR, just as it did successfully in 2020, and will do so again in 2024.
The EC invited the NDC to the discussion table, believing this would provide an opportunity to demonstrate that the detected discrepancies in the PVR have been addressed.
“As a Commission, we are of the view that the existing legal and administrative processes for cleaning the PVR have not been fully exhausted to justify the call for a forensic audit. We entreat the NDC and the general public to trust us to deliver our mandate.”
By: Isaac Kafui Nyanyovor
