Pusiga district officer sacked by EC over unauthorised vote transfers

The Electoral Commission (EC) has confirmed the termination of it’s district electoral officer in Pusiga, located in the Upper East Region.

This action was taken following investigations during the exhibition of the provisional voter’s register.

The findings revealed that the officer had transferred voters from two polling stations in the Tamale South constituency and one in the Sagnarigu constituency to the Pusiga constituency without authorization.

The announcement came in response to a petition by the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which called for a forensic audit of the voters register.

“We acknowledge that our Officer in Pusiga carried out 38 unauthorized transfers. The said transfers have been reversed and the Officer’s appointment has been terminated”, the EC confirmed.

The Electoral Commission (EC) emphasized the integrity of its systems, stating that all transfers are documented with details such as the date, time, and responsible officers, ensuring they are verifiable within the Voter Management System (VMS).

Additionally, the EC responded to concerns from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which has yet to present evidence supporting its claim of “15,000 instances of unidentifiable voter transfer paths.”

“All data, from registration to transfers and amendments are not deleted from the Voter Management System. All voters registered in the VMS can be accounted for,” the statement read.

According to the Commission, even if voter data becomes corrupted, there is still evidence, either paper or electronic indicating that a registration occurred.
“This allows the Commission to identify the voters and invite them for inclusion, should it be revealed that they are not in the Provisional Voters Register,” the EC said.

On the demand for a re-exhibition of the voter’s register, the Commission said due to limited time it cannot hold a physical exhibition exercise but will allow an online exhibition of the register until Election Day.

The Commission again rejected calls for a forensic audit of the Provisional Voter’s Register (PVR).

The EC maintains that the legal and administrative processes established to clean the register have not been fully exhausted, and thus a forensic audit is not justified at this stage.

“As a Commission, we are of the view that the existing legal and administrative processes for cleaning the PVR have not been fully exhausted to justify the call for a forensic audit.”
To foster collaboration and transparency, the EC has extended an invitation to the NDC to join in a discussion table.

This dialogue, the EC believes, will provide an opportunity for the NDC to see firsthand the steps taken to resolve the discrepancies.