The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has disclosed a plan to hold a nationwide protest on September 17, 2024 if the Electoral Commission (EC) does not address issues of irregularities in the voters register before the December 7 general election.
The party made this remarks after the submission of the presidential nomination forms of John Dramani Mahama, the party’s flag bearer on Monday, September 9, 2024.
The NDC National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia pointed out what he said was “several discrepancies” identified in the register.
He mentioned that the party had purposefully petitioned the EC to rectify the issues earlier, notwithstanding assurances from the commission, no concrete action had been taken.
Mr. Nketia raised the alarm that the integrity of the upcoming elections could be at risk if the EC fails to resolve the matter.
“Is it possible for a district officer anywhere to transfer names of voters to places they didn’t choose? And they are saying it is possible. If it is possible, then we are not safe,” he remarked.
He added that there should be a full audit of the EC’s IT systems, saying that the NDC has reached out to international development partners who are ready to provide funding for such an audit.
“We want an independent audit of the system,” he added.
Referring to the submission of the flag bearer’s nomination forms, Mr. Nketia said they have met all requirements and are hopeful that their candidate will go through the process easily.
“We are very confident of the eligibility of our candidate,” he said.
So far, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of the governing New Patriotic Party has submitted his forms as well as Nana Kwame Bediako, an independent aspirant and Kofi Akpaloo of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG).
All forms submitted were received by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs Jean Mensah.
By Nelly Takyiwa Boateng- Student, Kumasi Technical University (KsTU)
