The head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana, Prof. Alidu Seidu, has backed the call for a forensic audit of the voter register. According to him, it would be in the best interest of the Electoral Commission (EC) to pay attention to the National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s request and re-examine the voter register.
He questioned the rationale behind the commission’s refusal to conduct a review of the voter register.
“I think it is in the best interest of the EC to conduct the forensic audit of the voter’s register. When people are saying you are not fair or the processes are not fair and the register is not accurate, why don’t you just prove them wrong? Why can’t you just let the process go on?” he asked.
The lecturer further explained that the EC’s refusal deepens the perception that the 2024 general election will not be free and fair.
He added “If we begin to hold this position, it deepens the suspicion people have that the process is not going to be free and fair and the register is not as accurate as we think. Even in developed democracies, they allow for audits where it is necessary.”
According to Prof. Alidu, the calls for an audit are timely and will allow for corrections to be done. “If the NDC identified challenges in the register and calls for a complete audit, I think the process is timely and should be done now rather than later,” he argued.
“So if the Afrobarometer measures people’s opinions this way and a political party is saying that they are not very confident in the register we are going to use, why don’t you give them the benefit of the doubt and let the audit be done then you prove them wrong that everything is good,” he remarked.