A Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Bossman Asare, has insisted that the Commission has addressed all the discrepancies raised by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) concerning the provisional voter’s register.
According to him, the EC has assured the public that it has a robust register in place for the 2024 general elections.
Speaking to JoyNews on Friday, September 13, Dr Asare stated that while the Commission had addressed all the issues raised by the NDC, the responsibility now lies with them to present evidence of any remaining challenges.
He explained that the Commission had reached out to the NDC flagbearer, John Mahama, urging him to engage with the party leadership to bring their concerns to the table for discussion and thus, expressed disapproval of the NDC’s decision to go on with their planned protest against the Commission.
“The Electoral Commission strongly believes that embarking on demonstration will not produce any significant answer.
“We believe that we have been able to work on all the challenges they have raised. The onus is on the NDC to let us see the evidence of the challenges they have and once we can see evidence of those challenges which we believe we have addressed, I think that the NDC is going to be a satisfied party, the Electoral Commission is also going to be a satisfied player as far as the 2024 elections are concerned,” he said.
Dr Asare’s comments follow remarks by NDC National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, who clarified that the party’s demand for a forensic audit is aimed at ensuring their flagbearer has a level playing field in the December elections.
Mr Nketia also expressed skepticism about the EC’s invitation to the former president, asserting that it would be unfavorable for him to accept the Commission’s request when he had observed the discrepancies in the voter’s register.
The NDC Chairman added that the party was acting in the best interest of Mr Mahama and insisted the party’s push for a transparent election was crucial.
He noted that the EC had failed to provide an updated voter’s register, despite promising to do so after receiving a hard drive from the party.
But responding to this, Dr Asare dismissed claims that the EC had received such evidence from the NDC.
“We had a meeting with the NDC last week and in that particular meeting, there was this agreement by the NDC and the EC that the NDC was going to give us evidence of the issues they have identified in the register.
“Based on that discussion, the Electoral Commission told them that bring us that evidence and once we finish addressing the concerns you have, we are going to make the new copy available to you. So as we speak, we are still waiting for the NDC to give us that particular evidence,” he explained.
Dr Asare reiterated that the EC has nothing to hide and is committed to ensuring a credible electoral process that inspires confidence.
He added that the final version of the voter’s register will be shared with all political parties for verification and comparison.
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