The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Northern Region has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of covering up alleged misconduct by its officers regarding the illegal transfer of voters from Tamale to Pusiga in the Upper East Region.
The party claims that the EC is not cooperating with the police in identifying and holding accountable those involved.
According to the NDC, the EC’s failure to act promptly and transparently raises concerns about its alignment with the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its potential impact on the electoral process.
The Northern Regional Secretary for NDC, Mohammed Abdul Salam told JoyNews that the purpose of voter exhibitions is to correct genuine errors in the voter register, but he believes the EC’s actions have compromised this process.
“The EC should have quickly identified those responsible for the transfer, but instead, they’ve been hiding who was involved.”
Mr Salam noted that while the police investigation is ongoing and efforts are being made to compel the EC to disclose the individuals involved, some voters have been returned to their original stations. However, he pointed out that not all issues have been resolved.
He also criticised the EC for continuing to use a disputed number of 38, indicating that the actual number of problematic cases is higher. “The EC’s reversal of only those cases we reported suggests a lack of thorough internal checks,” he added.
“This is problematic because the actual number of affected cases is higher, but the EC has only reversed the issues we reported. This suggests a lack of thorough internal review.”
He also warned that the NDC will maintain their protests if their concerns are not addressed after the September 17 demonstration. “Our leadership is calling for an independent forensic audit. For the EC to regain public trust, they need to be more transparent.”
He compared the situation to a scenario where, if someone is accused of hiding stolen goods, allowing a search would verify the truth of the claims.
“If the EC has nothing to hide, a forensic audit would boost public trust. Their refusal to acknowledge mistakes and their insistence that nothing is wrong only raises further doubts.”
He added that the situation is under scrutiny. “We are not just making noise; we have substantial evidence.
It’s concerning that the EC provides voter registers to political parties only 24 hours before the exhibition, which suggests they might be trying to conceal deeper issues.”
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