'Utterly ridiculous' - Bawah Mogtari blasts EC director over ‘plants and animals’ comment on 2016 voter register

A spokesperson for the campaign team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Flagbearer John Dramani Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, has criticised the Deputy Director in charge of Operations of the EC, Samuel Tetteh, for his comments regarding 'plants and animals in the 2016 voters register'

Bawah Mogtari, in a post shared on X on Friday, September 13, 2024, stated that the comment made by the deputy director of the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) is disrespectful.

She added that Samuel Tetteh's statement validates the NDC's position that the Provisional Voter Register for the 2024 general election is full of irregularities, including illegal voter transfers.

“Utterly ridiculous and completely unacceptable to hear a representative of the EC making such childish statements! So, it tells you that the NDC is spot on! We need an audit of the register and NOW! Say no to manipulation and fraud by the EC.

“How is it possible that Madam Charlotte Osei will preside over an EC where plants and animals were photographed physically and registered? Such poor leadership by the EC!” she wrote on X.

What the deputy EC director said:

Samuel Tetteh, during a press conference in Accra on Thursday, September 12, 2024, rejected a call for a forensic audit of the 2024 Provisional Voter Register.

He referenced supposed errors in the 2016 Provisional Voters Register, stating that the voter exhibition exercise conducted by the EC is a way of editing the voter register.

He added that if the NDC had been reviewing the provisional voters register in previous years, they would have discovered that pictures of animals and plants were used for some individuals in the 2016 Provisional Voter Register.

“The Commission wishes to inform the General Public that the Voters Exhibition Exercise in itself is an audit. The Exhibition offers an avenue for the auditing of the Register. It unearths discrepancies and allows for prescribed legal processes to correct the discrepancies.

“Perhaps this is the first time the NDC has taken interest in the Register; otherwise, one would have expected them to call for such an audit of the 2016 Register which contained photos of plants and animals representing voters. It is important to note that, contrary to what is being alluded, since 1992 the Voters Register has never been audited,” he said.

See the post plus a video of the deputy EC director's remarks below:

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