The Electoral Commission of Ghana has admitted mistakes in the provisional voters register in respect of the Ajumako/Enyan/Essiam Constituency.
According to the Deputy Commissioner of the EC in charge of Corporate Affairs, Dr Eric Bossman Asare, the anomalies have been rectified.
“In the preparations towards the 2024 Exhibition Exercise, the Absent Voters List and the Transferred Voters List inadvertently included all transfers that had been done since 2020 when this Register was first prepared. This has resulted in a higher-than-expected number of Absent and Transferred Voters.”
“This understandably may have caused some anxiety to our stakeholders, as exemplified by the press conference addressed by the NDC in the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam Constituency of the Central Region.”
” We wish to restate that the Provisional Voters Register is not the Final Voters Register. The central objective of the Exhibition Exercise is to correct any anomalies and issues with the Provisional Register before the Final Register is produced. This has been the practice since 1992.
” The Commission wishes to assure the Public that, after the Exhibition Exercise, the Final Voters Register that will be produced will be robust and credible,” Dr Asare assured.
“The Commission has corrected this anomaly and will share with all the Political Parties the corrected Absent and Transferred Voters List for each Polling Station that contains only those applicants who successfully applied for transfers or special voting for the 2024 General Elections,” Dr. Asare noted on September 2 during a press conference.
Meanwhile, the Commission has stated that it will not protect any of its officers should they engage in electoral malpractices.
According to Dr Asare, this assurance reaffirms the EC’s commitment to ensuring free and fair elections.
Dr. Asare said both temporary and permanent officers will be made to face the law if they engage in illegal acts.
“The Commission would like to assure the public that it will not shield any of its officers (both permanent and temporary) found complicit in any electoral malpractices and will always allow such persons to face the full rigours of the law,” he said.
This comes in a response to concerns raised by political parties, including the National Democratic Congress (NDC) following the voter exhibition.
Some illegal transfer of 38 voters took place in the Pusiga District, a situation that has resulted in the suspension of the EC’s electoral officer in that area.
Source: 3news.com
