The Bono Region Branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has condemned the opposition National Democratic
Congress (NDC) over its stance on the voters’ register.
In a statement yesterday, the NPP stated that the NDC had a different stance in 2015 when it was in power over
similar concerns expressed about the voters register compiled by the EC.
Interestingly, the NPP, which was in opposition then but is in government now, also had a diametrically opposite
view on the quality of the register.
(Below is the full statement).
17TH SEPTEMBER, 2024
PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY, BONO REGION IN RESPONSE TO
THE NDC’S CALL FOR FORENSIC AUDIT OF THE VOTERS REGISTER
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, Good morning! Thank you for honoring our invitation to this press conference.
We have called you this morning in respect of the opposition NDC’s call for forensic audit of the voters register.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, the claim of the NDC, that current the voter’s register is bloated not only false
but same is borne out of malice. The opposition NDC that has no policy for this year’s elections made the unfounded
claim when the Electoral Commission began the exhibition exercise which ended on the 27th of August, 2024.
Between the period of the exhibition exercise and the closure of same, the shameless NDC and some self-acclaimed
security experts who are under the payroll of the NDC have failed to provide a detailed report of their claim to the
Ghanaian people. For instance, they have failed to inform Ghanaians about the polling stations where the supposed
register is bloated and under which constituencies or their Regions.
It is also imperative to note that, the NDC has also failed to furnish the ELECTORAL COMMISSION which is
mandated by law to conduct elections in this country areas of the supposed errors they have identified. Ladies and
Gentlemen, what the NDC is currently seeking to do is not so different from the lies they told Ghanaian after the
2020 elections, that they have won but then again failed to provide evidence of their victory when they appeared
before the Supreme Court.
The opposition NDC is deliberately raising this false alarm against the EC in order to achieve their diabolic and
undemocratic plan of going into the 2024 elections with their own referee instead of the constitutionally mandated
Electoral Commission. This very stance of the NDC was visibly affirmed by their presidential candidate on the 20th
of June 2024, on Ghana web and I quote; “We don’t trust the EC; we’ll go into 2024 elections with our own
referee’’.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this statement by the former president is treasonable and we call on the US Embassy, UK
Embassy, Canadian Embassy, German Embassy, UNDP, Ecowas, AU, the Ghana Police Service and the National
Security to take notice of the above statement made by the former President, John Dramani Mahama. We must bear
in mind that, John Dramani Mahama’s attitude, actions and inactions towards these upcoming elections is not so
different from that of OSAMA BIN LADEN’s who destroyed the world trade Centre some years back.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the opposition NDC has not won any genuine elections in this country and this was
confirmed by the former first lady of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, this makes the
NDC always think that the NPP is much the same as them but they must be clear in their minds that, the New
Patriotic Party has been winning elections in this country based on our well understandable and trustworthy policies.
Rigging is Not in our DNA.
NDC’S CLAIM OF ERRORS ON THE REGISTER.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is not so surprising that the NDC is now drifting away from their earlier position in 2015,
on electoral matters more especially the issue of having a transparent voter’s register for free and fair Elections.
When the committee of eminent experts was put in place in 2015, chaired by V.C.R.A.C CRABBE to ascertain the
complaint of double registration, irregularities, inaccuracies and foreigners’ names on the register, the NDC who
was then in government, was emphatic on this matter and this was what Mr. Asiedu Nketiah, who represented the
NDC told the committee on the 19th of November 2015, at page 20 and I quote; “On cleaning the voters register, the
NDC representative said, it can be done using the existing mechanisms, the exhibition procedures, challenging and
objecting to names of unqualified persons in the register this according to the party should be the right approach”.
Ladies and Gentlemen, what has really changed that the NDC can’t use the position they themselves preached or
canvassed in 2015 to correct the errors they are complaining about in the current register? On the 29th of October
2015, when the NDC representative in the person of Mr. Asiedu Nketiah appeared before V.C.R.A.C. Crabbe
committee, he said that the introduction of the Biometric voters register is a good thing and that nobody should
question the integrity of the BVR and this statement was captured in page 14 paragraph (g) of the late Justice
Crabbe’s report and I quote; Integrity “In the process of compiling the Biometric voters register, all stakeholders
were actively involved in decisions leading to the compilation, and everyone had ample opportunity to make inputs.
The process was free from political manipulation or intimidation and therefore provided all eligible persons the
necessary and required environment to be captured in the Biometric voters’ register. The biometric process itself
was designed to ensure that only eligible voters whose bio – data was captured could be on the voters register.
Overall, the high integrity of the process of registration, makes the register, without doubt , one of the fairest , most
credible , and freest political exercises undertaken in Ghana hence the validity of the register cannot be questioned .
The verification machine itself provided additional safeguard to ensure that no person could vote more than once in
any election”
Ladies and Gentlemen, flowing from the above statement made by the NDC before the late Crabbe committee, I
would like to ask the following questions in the just ended registration and exhibition exercise.;
Did the NDC take part in the registration exercises?
Did their representatives present in all over the registration centers?
Was the registration exercise free and fair?
Was there a complaint filed by the NDC during the Registration exercise?
Can voters in the current register vote more than once?
Why is it that, the NDC is adamant to let the Ghanaian people know or see their supposed errors they are talking
about?
Illegal Vote Transfers in 2016.
Ladies and gentlemen, is it not surprising that, up till now the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has not
responded to the statement made by Madam Charlotte Osei, the former Commissioner of the Electoral Commission,
indicating that, her then deputy Amadu Suley, instructed officials of the Commission to carry out illegal vote
Transfers on the voter management system. This statement was captured in paragraph 28, VII of Charlotte Osei’s
response in respect of the petition filed by some staff of the EC for her removal and I quote "
“The Deputy Chairperson Operations has persistently instructed officials to carry out illegal vote transfers on the
Voter management system in clear breach of the law and operational policies of the Commission. Such actions have
major implications for the integrity of the work of the Commission and constitute abuse of office".
Because the NDC directly benefited from the said illegal vote transfers, they have been silent on the issue raised by
the former Commissioner and No wonder they immediately jumped into the defence of Amadu Sule instead of
responding to the critical issue raised by Madam Charlotte Osei. Ladies and gentlemen, it is an undeniable fact that
all electoral reforms in the fourth Republic were canvassed by the New Patriotic Party and a clear indication that, the
NPP is always up for a credible voters register.
The NDC is crying for “wolf” where there is NO wolf. The NDC is inviting Ghanaians to attend a funeral where
there is No dead person. The NDC is typically running away from defeat because of the momentum that our
flagbearer Dr Mahamadu Bawumia is gaining from the Ghanaian electorates and therefore they are preparing to give
some frivolous excuses after 7th December 2024, to their unintelligent supporters that, they lost the elections based
on the inaccuracies and errors in the voters register. If indeed, the NDC has a genuine case, they should state same
and let EC decide on such basis. In fact, this was their dead goat and Government Official One position in 2015,
when he said and I quote “Voter’s register: state your case and let EC decide – Mahama tells critics. “Which was
published by myjoyonline on 8th 0ctober 2015”.
Can’t the NDC today state their position for the EC to decide? If the NDC, thinks that their imbiber presidential
candidate is not a good choice for the electorates, he should just withdraw from the contest to pave way for the
young dynamic presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party who has a clear vision for this country. Ladies and
Gentlemen, friends of the media, former president John Dramani Mahama is not only alky but a warmonger hence
his treasonable statement that, the NDC is going into this election with their own ‘referee’. The NPP is for peace but
will resist any attempt by the NDC to short change the will of the people through intimidations.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is untenable, unwarranted, mind-boggling and balderdash on the part of the former
President John Dramani Mahama to have made a declaration at Sampa in the Jaman North Constituency that ,all
NDC members should on 17th September 2024 besiege all the Electoral Commission offices nationwide to demand
for a credible voters register when he himself on 14th July 2016 granted an interview on Radio Savannah that there
is NO perfect voters register existing in the world and that, all issues concerning the register could be perfectly
handled by the Electoral Commission of which the said interview was published by Ghana web with the caption ‘’
NO perfect voters’ register exists in the world- Mahama’’.
If I may ask, can’t the same EC handle the issues that the NDC is yet to identify in the register? Can’t those errors be
rectified by using the exhibition mechanism as canvassed by Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah in 2015 before the late
Justice Crabbe Committee, if indeed what they are saying is true? Thank you for coming
