NDC Highlights Irregularities in Volta Region Voters’ Register During Exhibition Exercise

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) says it has identified several irregularities in the voters’ register in the Volta Region during the just-ended exhibition exercise.

The Volta Regional NDC Secretary, James Gunu outlined missing names, as one of the irregularities if not addressed could affect the integrity of the upcoming elections.

In a media interview in Ho, he mentioned that the Volta Regional NDC Deputy Secretary, Bright Ege was among those who could not find their names on the electoral roll, though he voted in previous elections.

“We have received reports of names missing in the voters register, and these are not people who have just registered. People who registered in 2020 and voted in the 2020 general elections. Their names are not in the register as we speak.

“It would be too costly for this nation if the Electoral Commission goes on that tangent where on election day people will go to the polling stations and will not find their names in the register as it happened in the 2020 elections”, he said.

Mr Gunu also indicated the reallocation of polling stations, where electorates turned up at their regular stations only to be told their names were not on the register.

He called for the urgent addressing of this to ensure electorates are not disenfranchised on December 7th, 2024, which would consequently affect the result of the polls.

“The EC doesn't have that right to determine where I vote. I have to tell the Electoral Commission that this is where I want to cast my vote, and then they must ensure that they place me there.

“But if the EC just decides that ‘okay you go here and vote’ whilst I have no knowledge of that and on election day or during an exhibition time like this then I have to be going around the entire region or the constituency, that is not fine. The EC must be fair to the electorates”, he noted.

Another irregularity he pointed out was the duplication of details, citing an example where a voter’s identification number, allocated to a voter in the Volta Region, has been captured in the EC’s system to be allocated to a voter in the Ashanti Region.

“We have identified that the voter’s ID of one Ahiadorme Johnson Worlanyo of the Volta Region has been allocated to Agnes Owusu, a 65-year-old woman in the Ashanti Region”, he indicated.

Mr. Gunu entreated the electoral commission to do due diligence to ensure it delivers a fair, credible, and transparent election, to the satisfaction of all contesting parties.

He requested the EC to furnish political parties with the register early to give them ample time to scrutinize it.

“The Electoral Commission should not mess up this register, because if you want to have free, fair, transparent, and credible elections, it must begin with the voters’ register.

'The moment the register is messed up and we can't trust this register. We will not tolerate that; we will not accept that. So, they [EC] must do everything possible to correct all these things and give us the final voters’ register ahead of time”, he stressed.

Mr Gunu said a formal complaint has been lodged with the Electoral Commission, calling on the respective authorities to ensure the irregularities are addressed.

He lauded the initiative by the NDC National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia to summon the EC for an urgent meeting to iron out issues raised about the voters' register.

The just-ended voter register exhibition exercise was characterized by low turnout in the Volta region.

Statistics gathered by Joy News, at some centres in the Ho Central Constituency, suggest that just about 30% of names on the register were checked.