Nana Akomea urges EC to hold IPAC meetings to address NDC grievances
Nana Akomea, a vice chairman of the Bawumia Campaign Team, has expressed surprise and concern over the Electoral Commission’s (EC) delay in convening Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meetings to address recent concerns raised by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
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Speaking on Metro TV on Friday, [Sept 27, 2024], Nana Akomea questioned why IPAC had not met in the last two to three weeks, despite the NDC’s protests and demands regarding the Provisional Voters Register (PVR).
Nana Akomea stressed the need for political parties to come together, stating, “Even if the NDC’s demands are seen as unjustified or self-centered, the EC should have already convened an IPAC meeting to address the issue. IPAC exists to allow parties to directly engage and find solutions.”
He pointed out that the ongoing media exchanges between the NDC and the EC were not helpful, adding, “By now, IPAC should be meeting daily, reviewing evidence, and discussing a way forward. It’s surprising that with all the protests and agitation, IPAC hasn’t met in the last few weeks.”
Mr Akomea’s comments come amid an ongoing protest led by the NDC. The opposition party organized a nationwide demonstration, dubbed ‘Enough is Enough,’ to demand corrections to the voter register and a forensic audit of the EC’s IT systems.
The NDC National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has alleged various discrepancies in the register such as illegal voter transfers, deleted names, and incomplete data, which he says compromise the integrity of the voter register.
In response to the protest, the EC assured the NDC that it would re-exhibit the corrected PVR online before finalizing the register for the elections.
The EC also acknowledged the NDC’s concerns, however, it maintained that a physical exhibition of the register at over 40,000 centres would not be feasible due to time constraints, as it would take approximately four weeks to print and distribute the corrected register. Instead, the EC would rather conduct an online exhibition of the register, allowing voters to report any anomalies.
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However, Mr Akomea considers the lack of IPAC meetings as a major oversight suggesting that regular IPAC meetings could have prevented much of the public tension and accusations between the parties.
He emphasised that the public disagreements between the NDC and EC could be eased if IPAC was used for direct discussions.
“IPAC is the right platform to resolve these issues. It’s surprising the Electoral Commission hasn’t called for meetings with such serious concerns at hand,” he added.