Correspondence from the Bono Region

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Bono Region has reiterated the party’s call for an audit of the voters register by the Electoral Commission (EC) to ensure a free, fair, and transparent election.

Taking part in the nationwide demonstration to back calls for a credible voter register, the party indicated that they have identified various infractions in the voters register which should serve as the basis for an audit.

The party cites illegal transfers in the Tain and Banda Constituencies, bloating of the voters register in the Sunyani East Constituency by 2,644 voters, duplicate entries in the absentee voters register and main voters register, missing names in the special voters register, unaccounted additional voters and inconsistencies in the special voters register as some of the irregularities in the voters register.

Speaking to the media at the demonstration in Sunyani after presenting a petition to the Electoral Commission, the Bono Regional Director of Elections and IT, George Ayaaba indicated that the various infractions identified in the region cast doubt on the credibility of the December polls.

“We did our audit of the register and realized some irregularities in the register. For example, an audit of the register in the Jaman North Constituency showed that some votes were illegally transferred to the Tain Constituency plus several other irregularities in the region that is why we are embarking on this demonstration to compel the EC to conduct an audit to correct any anomaly for a credible election”.

Way forward

Per portions of the petition presented to the Electoral Commission in the Bono Region, the party avers that the only way to make the voters register credible is for the EC to among other things rectify the duplicate entries identified, conduct an international forensic audit of the register, and a reconciliation of the inconsistencies.

“Given the issues identified, we recommend the following actions: Immediate Rectification of Duplicate Entries and International Forensic Audit of the Register: The EC should promptly remove all duplicate entries from either the Absentee Voters List or the Main Voters Register to prevent any election-day complications. Again, give Political Parties the Voter Register Codebook now”, the petition reads in part.

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