It's 'impossible' to rig elections in Ghana - EC to NDC

Electoral Commission is in "no position to rig the 2024 general election for any political party," the elections management body has said.

It noted at a press conference addressed by Deputy Commissioner Samuel Tettey on Friday, 17 May 2024 that the electoral process is "transparent and contains all the necessary checks and participation of all stakeholders, especially the political parties, such that rigging an election in Ghana is impossible.”

It was a response to a warning by the main opposition National Democratic Congress to the EC against rigging the polls.

Addressing journalists on Thursday, May 16, 2024, the General Secretary of the NDC, Fifi Kwetey, said a previous mistake by the NDC in compiling the figures of recently registered voters was “utterly avoidable", pointing out: "Simple arithmetic, accurately summing the regional figures from the 16 regions, would have clearly demonstrated to the EC that their numbers were erroneous."

"Why must Ghana’s Electoral Commission be reduced to an ‘Error Commission’? The EC must distance itself from any intentions of rigging and be warned: any attempt to undermine the electoral process will be rigorously challenged and exposed", Mr Kwetey warned.

He recalled: “On May 12, 2024, the Electoral Commission issued a press statement acknowledging erroneous figures previously released and attempted corrections. However, they claimed the total number of registered voters over the four days remained unchanged. This situation exemplifies what we term 'transpositional rigging' where figures are shuffled between categories without affecting the overall total. The assertion by the EC that these errors in regional figures did not impact the total count is patently misleading.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, with this press conference, we are issuing a firm notice to the Jean Mensa-led Electoral Commission: the 2024 elections will not be business as usual! We are also here to declare unequivocally that any attempt by the EC to violate CI 127, which governs the conduct of the general elections, will be met with resolute resistance from us. We will not stand idly by while the EC undermines the time-tested electoral processes that are well recognised and respected by all stakeholders,” he stressed.

Mr Kwetey noted: “It is imperative that the EC approaches the handling of electoral figures with the utmost seriousness, as these numbers are fundamental to the integrity of the elections. No voter should be disenfranchised due to careless errors".

-Classfmonline