The National Democratic Congress in the Central Region has accused the Electoral Commission of clandestinely manipulating its register by adding unverifiable data. According to the party, data on voter transfers obtained from the various District Offices of the Commission across the region and the 2024 transfers issued by the EC Head Office were riddled with massive discrepancies.
The significant anomalies, which the party claims to have uncovered, formed the basis for its massive protest march in the regional capital, Cape Coast, yesterday as part of the party’s nationwide demonstration against the EC. The focus of the protest was to call on the EC to formally conduct a forensic audit and re-exhibition of the 2024 Provisional Voters’ Register (PVR) in the Central Region.
Alleged discrepancies uncovered in the region:
Presenting the party’s petition to the regional director of the commission, the MP for Cape Coast South, Mr Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, disclosed that the regional party had uncovered questionable discrepancies regarding voter transfers. He mentioned that data on a hard drive officially obtained from the EC’s Head Office indicated that a total of 71,828 transfers were made during the recent voter transfers in the region. Meanwhile, data on printouts issued to parties in all 22 District Offices regarding transfers, according to the party, showed that a total of 36,311 were made across the region. The difference of 35,517, according to the party, indicated that there were illegal transfers of voters made from the EC Head Office into various constituencies across the Central Region.
“For example, in Effutu Constituency alone, while the transfers recorded, as shown by the printouts issued by the District EC, were 6,206, the EC Head Office data exhibited transfers of 10,113, with a difference of 3,907,” the party claimed. The party further alleged that while the District EC Office recorded 5,188 transfers in the Awutu Senya East Constituency, the Head Office data showed 9,202, displaying a difference of 4,014.
The above-stated anomalies, the party said, were not different from what happened in the Ajumako Enyan Assiam Constituency, where the EC District transfer printouts showed 1,259 transfers. However, data from the EC’s Head Office for the exhibition showed that an alarming 4,286 were transferred, which created a difference of 3,027, raising concerns about the actual intentions of the EC.
According to the party, a further analysis of the transfers revealed that over 14,436 illegal transfers were allegedly made into various constituencies in the Central Region by the EC. For instance, the party mentioned that the Awutu Senya West and Mfantseman constituencies witnessed discrepancies of 1,310 and 1,204, respectively.
The NDC claimed that about 1,400 voters had their names removed from their respective polling stations without any reason assigned for their removal. They cited Assin South (287), Assin North (288), and Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem, where 536 names were found on the absent list without any reason provided.
Giving further details, the party stated that the aforementioned discrepancies clearly indicated that various transfers were made into constituencies without the EC providing any tangible reasons. “This is in clear violation of the requirements of C.I. 127, Regulation 22, Sub-regulation (1-4). In our view, these illegal transfers were intentionally made to give a comparative advantage to the NPP in the region,” the party said.
Dubbed “Enough is Enough,” the demonstrators, who marched through several known routes in Cape Coast, concluded at the office of the Electoral Commission, where a petition was presented. It was received by the regional director of the Electoral Commission, Mr. Manu Sakyi, for onward transmission to the Commission’s Head Office in Accra.
By: Naabenyin Joojo Amissah/newsalertgh.com
