Political Marketing strategist, Prof. Kobby Mensah, of the University of Ghana Business School, has advised the Electoral Commission (EC) to accept the calls for a forensic audit of the voters’ register.
The Professor wants the Commission to accept that institutions are not perfect and are prone to errors, the resolution of which, would bring trust in the electoral process.
According to him, honouring the audit of the register will provide a “win-win relationship” for all the key parties involved to end the brouhaha that has persisted after the exhibition of the voters’ register.
The Professor spoke with TV3’s Christian Yalley Monday, September 23, 2024, at the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) meeting with some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other stakeholders to present the party’s observations with the register.
The Professor noted that until the meeting with the NDC, he didn’t know the errors detected in the register were that huge.
“We already had a certain view of what the demands were but I particularly didn’t think that it was as grave as has been pointed out. Clear evidences of lapses that have been actually presented,” he stated.
“The way forward is for the EC to take a positive position. Obviously institutions are not perfect, processes are not perfect. You could actually acknowledge some of the lapses and perhaps call for a consensus, a certain kind of win-win relationship so that we can resolve this in order that we’ll have a very fairer and comprehensive process,” he added.
Speaking at the meeting with the CSOs and stakeholders, the Director of Elections and IT for the opposition NDC, Dr. Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, noted that “it’s not just a matter of fixing the errors but also the vulnerabilities inherent in the register.”
The NDC said it has lost trust in the Commission because the EC does not have credibility and reliability as it stands.
Stolen BVD kits
Dr. Omane Boamah raised concerns about the theft of some Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs).
He questioned whether the missing devices were part of a move to rig the elections in any party’s favour.
“The Biometric Verification Devices kits that got stolen, could it be a product of that criminal enterprise, because those BVR laptops got stolen under CCTV surveillance?” he quizzed.
According to him, “the layers of security at the EC is beyond what you see.”
Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission has assured of its resolve to deliver free, fair and credible elections this year.
The NDC’s meeting with the CSOs was necessitated by what the party has described as “unproductive” engagement with the EC on the same issue.
The party on September 17, 2024 led the ‘Enough is Enough’ demonstration across the country, following which it presented a petition to the EC to address the concerns it has raised.
An Electoral Commission is irrelevant if it cannot serve the citizens well – Haruna Iddrisu
