As Ghana prepares for the 2024 General Elections, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has launched renewed attacks on the Electoral Commission (EC).
The NDC has accused the electoral management body of being in bed with the government New Patriotic Party (NPP) to rig the December elections.
This begs the question whether the NDC is suggesting that it was also in bed with the EC while in power?
The party, once a staunch defender of the EC during its time in power, now claims that every bit of trust it once had in the Commission has been eroded, accusing the EC of lacking transparency.
This turnaround is striking, especially given the NDC’s history of defending the EC when the NPP raised similar concerns.
In the lead-up to the 2016 elections, then-President John Mahama lauded the EC’s integrity, describing Ghana’s electoral system as one of the best globally.
At a forum in Bordeaux, France, in 2016, former President Mahama confidently dismissed accusations that the EC could rig elections, calling them “absurd nonsense.”
Fast forward to 2024, and the NDC is singing a different tune.
NDC’s planned demo
The party plans to stage a nationwide protest on September 17, 2024, demanding an independent forensic audit of the EC’s IT systems, alleging discrepancies in the voters’ register.
According to the NDC, the current register contains 243,540 unexplained voter transfers, 15,000 unidentifiable transfer paths, and thousands of voters missing or unaccounted for.
EC refutes NDC’s claims
The EC has refuted these claims, urging the NDC to present evidence and accusing the party of exaggerating non-existent issues.
The Commission maintains that it has addressed all legitimate concerns raised.
The contrast between the NDC’s position today and its stance in 2016 is hard to ignore.
Back then, former President Mahama praised the EC’s independence and denied any interference by the presidency, insisting the system was foolproof.
His confident assertion that Ghana’s electoral system had built-in mechanisms to ensure fairness stands in stark contrast to the NDC’s current accusations.
For a party that once claimed the EC could do no wrong, the NDC’s sudden lack of faith in the Commission raises questions about political convenience.
Is the party’s newfound skepticism a genuine concern for electoral integrity, or is it an attempt to undermine trust in the system as a strategy to regain power?
With the NDC set to hit the streets in protest, the party’s shifting stance on the EC highlights a broader issue of political hypocrisy.
For someone like former President Mahama, who once held the highest office and praised the very institution he now critiques, the move seems less about reform and more about political expediency.
As the December 2024 elections draw closer, Ghanaians will have to decide whether the NDC’s concerns are valid or if their criticism is just another tactic in the pursuit of power.
