The Director of Elections and IT for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, has accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of attempting to illegally transfer voters to specific constituencies during the ongoing voter transfer exercise.
In a press conference held in Accra on Monday, June 3, 2024, Dr. Omane Boamah claimed to have intercepted a list detailing the number of voters the NPP intends to transfer to targeted constituencies.
He stated that the same source who provided this list also informed him about the theft of some Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) equipment.
Additionally, shortly before he received the list, the EC instructed its district office officials to prevent party agents from observing the voter transfer process.
“We will not withdraw our agents from the transfer centres. Look, we have authority, specific constituencies and a specific number of votes that the NPP wants to transfer to those constituencies. We got that document less than 15 minutes after the EC statement about political parties withdrawing their agents also started circulating.
“You may want to ask, where did I get my information about the stolen biometric equipment at the headquarters of the EC from? I will not disclose the source, but I’m the very person who got the information about the stolen biometric equipment at the headquarters of the EC under CCTV surveillance which they have admitted to,” he said.
The NDC elections director added, “I trust the source because the source proved to be credible when the source provided the information about the stolen biometric equipment.”
He further emphasized that all election stakeholders must be dedicated to ensuring transparency in all processes leading up to the December 7, 2024, polls for a free and fair election.
“The point we are making is that gerrymandering is something that unscrupulous political parties pursue during the transfer of votes. We do not want any political party to engage in gerrymandering,” he noted.
He questioned the EC’s decision to have political party agents withdraw from voter transfer centers.
Background:
The EC instructed its regional directors to prevent political parties from observing the ongoing voter transfer exercise.
This directive followed reports of violence at several centers conducting voter transfers, including the Kasoa EC office.
At that location, for example, the son of the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East, Mavis Hawa Koomson, was reportedly stabbed during a confrontation with members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Sunday, June 2, 2024, regarding the transfer of voters to the Awutu Senya East Constituency.
In a letter to its regional directors, shared by Oyerepa TV, the EC instructed its district officers not to permit political party agents to observe the voter transfer exercise.
“The Commission’s attention has been drawn to the violent clashes occurring at some of the District Offices as a result of the transfer of votes exercise.
“Regional Directors are to inform District Officers not to allow agents of political parties to observe the transfer of votes exercise with effect from tomorrow, Monday, June 3, 2024,” parts of the letter, dated Sunday, June 2, 2024, read.
The Commission mentioned that monitoring the transfer exercise was unnecessary because political parties would receive the list of transferred voters upon request.
“Pursuant to Regulation 22 (8) of C.I. 127, Returning Officers are required to give copies of the transferred voters’ list to political parties and candidates upon request. District Officers should ensure that they strictly adhere to this requirement,” the statement added.