The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Jean Mensa, has explained that the electoral body is neither bound nor mandated by law to provide voter statistics to political parties.
Her statement comes in response to concerns raised and demands by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and other political parties for a detailed breakdown of the voters' register.
These include information on transferred votes, constituency and regional voter populations, a proxy list, and other specifics.
Jean Mensa clarified that the EC has never submitted or provided summaries to political parties, as they are not legally required to do so.
"This is something we’ve been doing since time immemorial. I believe from Mr. Tettey Yorku, who has been here since 1952, they have never given a summary to anybody," she said while addressing the press on Thursday, November 7, 2024.
Mensa assured the public of the voter register's credibility and robustness ahead of the December polls, adding that the unavailability of the summary does not affect its certification.
She added that political parties who reject the voters' register do so at their own prerogative.
"The fact that there is no summary does not make it not certified. The register as you see and as you have, is a certified register. If you choose to reject it, that’s your prerogative, you can do so. This is a request you are making, it is not binding in law."
Mensa, however, affirmed the EC's readiness to generate a detailed summary in order to fulfill the requests of the political parties.
"So if it is your request, that is fine, and we are not obliged to give it to you. But I think as a commission that believes in transparency, that accommodates and is responsive to the needs of its stakeholders, we do not have a problem generating the detailed summary for you. But we are not obliged," she said.
MAG/OGB
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