All political parties and other participants in the general election have been urged by the Electoral Commission to have faith in its ability to conduct a legitimate registration process and elections.

The EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa, said, “We assure you and the good people of Ghana, we are working tirelessly to ensure that the 2024 Election is free, fair, credible and transparent.”

She claimed, “We urge you to trust us to perform our functions as enshrined in the Constitution as the body mandated by Article 45 (a) of the 1992 Constitution to compile the register of voters and to revise it at such periods as may be determined by law,” emphasizing that “we will not fail you and we will not disappoint you.”
Mrs. Mensa gave an update on the voter registration for the general election scheduled for December 7 at a special Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held in Accra yesterday.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) had expressed concerns about a forensic audit of the electoral roll, and the EC utilized the meeting to address those issues.

On September 17, this year, the nation’s biggest opposition party, the NDC, organized a statewide protest in which they demanded an independent forensic investigation of the voter registration database.
The political party declared that prior to the elections on December 7, it had found mistakes in the voter registration that needed to be corrected.
IPAC gathering
In order to involve registered political parties in the process of purging the voter registration in advance of the elections on December 7, the EC organized the IPAC meeting.

Observer attendees to the summit included members of the diplomatic corps, clergy, and civil society organizations (CSOs).
The Deputy Chairman of the EC responsible for Operations, Samuel Tettey, and the Deputy Chairman responsible for Corporate Services, Dr. Eric Bossman Asare, flanked the EC Chairperson.
dependable cleaning system
Mrs. Mensa emphasized that the register in question was provisional and still under revision, adding that the country’s national elections were governed by Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) 91, which acknowledged the provisional voters register (PVR) as a draft that was certain to contain errors.

She clarified, however, that C.I. 91 had established the exhibition exercise process to enable the PVR to be cleaned and revised so that it was reliable and credible for an election.
Mrs. Mensa listed a lengthy number of steps involved in cleansing the register, such as displaying it in each polling place (exhibition center) and online so that it can be checked and corrected as needed.
The chairperson of the EC stated that the commission had used the same strategy before producing the final register in 2020, and it had been successful.

“Data demonstrates that, in spite of the apprehensions expressed regarding the register’s ability to conduct legitimate elections, no voter was excluded from the 2020 election process.
Mrs. Mensa expressed confidence that the same result—”a credible and robust Final Voters Register ahead of the 2024 elections”—would be achieved, citing the same methodology the EC had used to purge the 2024 PVR.

Openness
According to Mrs. Mensa, the commission will re-exhibit the PVR online in the coming days in the spirit of accountability and transparency.
She stated, “We have created an online platform that enables voters to review their registration at no cost to them.”
Additionally, the EC would set up a window of time during which voters may report and have corrected errors with their voter registration information in districts where they had registered to vote.
Voters were advised by Mrs. Mensa to check their information and bring up any inconsistencies with the commission.

“We promise the people that problems that have an adverse effect on them will be resolved. “This procedure will undoubtedly ensure an additional cleansing of the register,” the head of the EC promised.
In addition, the commission promised to send copies of the updated PVR to each political party so they may examine it and report any inconsistencies.
We implore the political parties to approach this matter as a national rather than a partisan one. In order to ensure that the PVR is ready for the 2024 elections, let’s prioritize Ghana and put in our best efforts as a group, Mrs. Mensa pleaded.
She also mentioned that the EC had created a form that political parties may use to report to it any anomalies found in the register.

“It is in our best interests to hold a transparent, equitable, and credible general election as well as a credible and strong final register. We did this in 2020; please have faith in us to do it once more, said Mrs. Mensa.
She emphasized that the EC did not need outside help to run the elections because it was well-respected throughout the world for its capacity to carry out its duties.
Updated numbers
Dr. Yaw Ofori-Adjei, the EC’s Information Technology (IT) Consultant, declared that the nation’s voter registration was solid, unblemished, and prepared for the 2024 elections.
He claimed that 18,772,795 legitimate voters were listed on the provisional voter registration for the elections on December 7 after mistakes from the voter registration and exhibition operations were fixed.

Dr. Ofori-Adjei said, “This consists of 9,690,173 females and 9,082,622 males.”
According to the IT Consultant, there were 332,110 transferred voters, 131,475 special voters, and 708,282 first-time voters in the register.
Furthermore, he stated that there were 2,167 proxy voters on the register compared to 32,974 applicants on the exceptions and multiple registration lists and 26,798 applicants on the multiple registration list.

Important issues
Following the voter exhibition, several problems were found, according to Dr. Ofori-Adjei: voters who went missing, biometric data that was tampered with, people who were accidentally duplicated, and multiple identity cards.
He clarified that there were strong procedures in place between the registration and final register that assisted in finding and fixing any flaws, working with political parties and civil society organizations.
According to Dr. Ofori-Adjei, the issues with the register had been mostly resolved, and it was now in a better position for legitimate elections.
In order to have a nearly flawless poll book for the elections, he emphasized that work was still being done to obtain a clean voter registration.

Participation
Among the notable attendees were Justin Frimpong Kodua, the general secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP); the deputy director of elections and information technology for the NDC,

Dr. Rashid Computer Sofo Tanko; Sampson Asaki Awingobit, National Chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC); Kwame Nkrumah Botsio, Convention People’s Party (CPP); Akua Donkor, GFP flagbearer; and Hassan Ayariga, founder and leader of the All Peoples Congress (APC).
Alhaji Mohammed Frimpong, the National Democratic Party’s (NDP) flag bearer, and Kofi Akpaloo, the Liberal Party of Ghana’s (LPG) presidential candidate, were also there.
Remarks
All of the smaller parties, with the exception of the Progress People’s Party (PPP), expressed pleasure with the IT consultant’s presentation to the EC, particularly with regard to how well it clarified the issues brought up by the NDC.
Concerning the reasons behind the missing voter list, PPP Executive Director Nii Amarh Nkunim stated that an impartial audit will strengthen the register’s legitimacy and trustworthiness.
Yirimambo Moses Ambing, the Coordinator of the CPP’s Organization Committee, voiced reservations with the EC’s choice to re-display the register online.
He claimed that because of internet availability, rural residents would suffer.
Samson Asaki Awingobit, the National Chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC), praised the NDC for bringing up the matters that needed to be resolved.
Prior to the 2016 general election, Peter Mac Manu, a former National Chairman of the NPP, recalled what the NDC claimed regarding the same register.
He claimed that a request for a forensic audit was turned down by the then-governing NDC, which instead inquired as to whether anything had changed.

The NDC’s reaction
The NDC, represented by Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, Director of Elections and IT, stated in its presentation that the EC’s IT Consultant’s presentation—which acknowledged some voter transfers were made unlawfully—had reinforced the party’s stance that the commission’s IT system needed a forensic audit.
He emphasized that it was crucial to “fix the roof and mop the floor,” as opposed to “mopping the floor always.”
In order to discuss the results of the special IPAC meeting and inform the public of its decision, the party will hold a meeting, according to Dr. Omane Boamah.