Ghana opposition protests over voter register

Ghana’s main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), held nationwide protests on Tuesday, intensifying its call for an audit of the voter register, three months before a presidential election.

The NDC has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of tampering with the voter registry to favor the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its candidate Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.

Bawumia faces a tight contest with opposition flagbearer and former president John Mahama.

Thousands of NDC party supporters flooded the streets across the country’s 16 regions on Tuesday, chanting patriotic songs and carrying placards with slogans such as “EC stop the rigging, let the people decide,” and “No clean register, no peace.”

The opposition claims the EC colluded with the NPP to add 50,000 deceased individuals to the voter roll, illegally transfer votes and omit legitimate voters.

The EC has rejected the accusations, dismissing them as “unfounded” and reiterating that the voter register’s recent public exhibition was intended to allow for corrections and ensure transparency.

NDC national chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah addressed a crowd in the capital, Accra, before presenting a petition to the EC, warning of the potential consequences of electoral fraud.

“What we are doing is to prevent war in this country,” he said.

“We are not asking for a favor from the Electoral Commission; we are demanding our right to free and fair elections.”

He warned that the protests would continue until the NDC’s demands for a forensic audit of the voter register were met.

The protests, dubbed “Enough is Enough,” were attended by opposition stalwarts across the country.

“We just want a fair election. If the voter register isn’t clean, how can we trust the results? Rigging starts with a flawed register, and we won’t sit by and let that happen,” said Francis Dontoh, a protester in Accra.

Samuel Tettey, the EC’s deputy chairman in charge of operations, responded earlier at a press conference, saying the NDC’s call for a forensic audit was “misguided and unnecessary.”
“The purpose of the voter register exhibition was to identify and correct errors. The NDC’s accusations are without merit,” Tettey told AFP, urging the opposition to engage in dialogue rather than street protests.

The electoral tensions are unfolding against the backdrop of a crucial election year for Ghana.

President Nana Akufo-Addo is stepping down after two terms, leaving Bawumia to lead the NPP’s bid to retain power.

Both Bawumia and Mahama hail from northern Ghana, marking a historic first for the West African nation.

The election is expected to center around Ghana’s economic recovery following a severe financial crisis in 2022, which forced the government to default on its external debt.

The nation, a leading producer of oil, gold and cocoa, is now gradually recovering with the support of a $3-billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) relief package.