Kamal Alhassan, PhD candidate at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Douglas L. Wilder School of Public and Government Affairs and Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Opinion and Awareness, has suggested that conducting a forensic audit of the register is presently not feasible.

He stated that conducting a comprehensive forensic audit of the register would not be feasible due to time constraints.

Kamal Alhassan, however, proposed what he described as a "limited audit of the register”, which should involve civil society organizations, political parties, and other stakeholders.

Speaking in an interview on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he asserted that a forensic audit will require an entire audit of the Electoral Commission’s system and not just the voters’ register.

He told host Kwabena Agyapong that, at this point, a forensic audit of the register is not feasible.

However, an independent body comprising CSOs, election observers, and national monitors can conduct a limited audit. This would not be a full forensic audit, which should cover the entire system and election process.

Instead, this audit would involve CSOs, international observers, and independent bodies reviewing the electoral processes, information system technology, and the EC’s conduct, providing suggestions and recommendations to address the situation.

”If you are advocating for a forensic audit at this juncture, would it not be feasible to conduct one post-election as well? This limited audit must be executed presently, incorporating CSOs, international observers, and independent entities to scrutinize electoral processes, information system technology, and the EC’s operational methodology, thereby garnering constructive suggestions and recommendations to inform improvements.”

He said, "I am sure the EC does its own internal audit, and I am 100 percent sure all the laws that concern our data, including the Cybersecurity Act and the Data Protection Act, all have provisions that could be used because they all require critical infrastructure to be protected using appropriate means, and they also require periodic audits.

The cybersecurity expert stated that the national cybersecurity policy requires periodic audits, and these audit reports, if available, could be provided by the EC to the opposition and other stakeholders to help in this situation.

He also underscored the need for the EC to meet the NDC halfway through on their request, be transparent, and submit to them the specific issues they claim to have addressed.

”The expert stated that there’s a high possibility of doubting the election outcome due to the opposition’s posturing, including a nationwide demonstration against the Electoral Commission. If concerns are raised beforehand and left unaddressed, the opposition can later claim the election was tainted if it doesn’t go in their favour.

"If the Electoral Commission demonstrates genuine concern, goodwill, and a commitment to ensuring a free, fair, and transparent election and takes tangible steps to guarantee the credibility of the voter register, rather than merely issuing vague correspondence to the NDC, a compromise may be achievable through mutual cooperation.”

ID/KA

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