The Deputy Director of Elections and IT for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Rashid Tanko-Computer, has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of acting in “bad faith” over the deployment of party agents at vote transfer centres.
During an IPAC meeting on May 29, it was agreed that party agents should observe the transfer process to ensure transparency, despite the law not explicitly mandating their presence.
The Electoral Commission later reversed its stance, citing violent incidents at some centers.
However, speaking on the JoyNews AM show, Dr Tanko-Computer expressed concerns over the Electoral Commission’s handling of the situation, stating that the CI 127 contains a gap regarding the deployment of party agents.
He argued that the NDC’s decision not to withdraw its agents from vote transfer centers was justified, given the prevailing suspicions and transparency concerns.
“It is very silent about the deployment of party agents to observe the pieces. It has not debunked them, and it has also not allowed them. There is a lacuna there, on both ends. It is not clear in the CI.”
“Nobody is doing anything untoward because we have issues with the returning officers they recruited. You remember when we held a press conference addressed by our General Secretary and that we had issues with the people they had picked as the returning officers, and the returning officers are the people in charge of the transfer.
“So, if we have issues with their appointment and they are to guide the process of the transfers and we fold our arms and allow this thing to go, no. We won’t accept it,” he said.
Dr. Tanko-Computer emphasized that the party’s involvement was necessary to ensure transparency in the electoral process.
“They all said it was good for transparency sake so, we all exited and smiled. Everybody was happy. We even had a joint press briefing after the IPAC meeting, but only for Sunday evening, a memo came out from the Electoral Commission, signed by one of the deputy commissioners, Tettey, now telling their officers not to allow party agents to observe the process. That is bad faith. Meanwhile, you have already given us a letter inviting us to an emergency meeting on Monday, and the agenda was transfers,” he noted.
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