NDC demands re-examination of EC’s IT systems to address ‘vulnerabilities’

larryehu

2 months ago

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has demanded a re-examination of the Information Communication Technology systems being used by the Electoral Commission (EC)

This follows an Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting held on October 1.

According to the party it deems the IT system of the elections management body as susceptible to being used to tamper with the outcome of the December 7 elections.

“… the NDC demands a multi-stakeholder and interparty examination of the IT system of the Electoral Commission with the aim of addressing the vulnerabilities that the EC itself has admitted to, which vulnerabilities led to several of the anomalies we have raised.

Clearly, the vulnerabilities in the IT system of the Electoral Commission can be exploited by criminals to compromise the integrity of the December 07, 2024 elections if not addressed,” General Secretary of the NDC, Fifi Kwetey wrote in a press release dated October 1.

PRESS STATEMENT
For immediate Release

01/10/2024

NDC POSITION ON MATTERS ARISING FROM IPAC, RELATIVE TO THE 2024 PROVISIONAL VOTERS’ REGISTER.

Following the Special Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) Meeting held today, Tuesday, 1st October 2024, to deliberate on the 2024 Provisional Voters Register, the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the National Democratic Congress deems it fit to restate the following significant admissions by the Electoral Commission of Ghana:

* Illegal transfer of voters due to the lack of a liveliness test technology, as occurred in Pusiga and other Constituencies,

* Erroneous addition of previous transfers to the current 2024 transfer list?

* Presence of corrupted files in the 2024 Provisional Voters’ Register, which the Commission claims have been rectified and restored,

* Deleted voters who the Commission wishes to place on a Missing Voters register, and

* A vulnerable EC IT system that is susceptible to data manipulation and infiltration from officials and non-officials of the Electoral Commission who have access to login credentials.

With this background, the Functional Executive Committee of the NDC has deliberated and decided to accept the EC’s promise to release to political parties, the corrected/updated version of the 2024 Provisional Voters Register for scrutiny within one week.

FEC further welcomes the decision by the Electoral Commission to re-exhibit the updated Provisional Voters’ Register. We however recommend that the re-exhibition exercise should be conducted online and offline at the exhibition centres.

Additionally, the NDC demands a multi-stakeholder and interparty examination of the IT system of the Electoral Commission with the aim of addressing the vulnerabilities that the EC itself has admitted to, which vulnerabilities led to several of the anomalies we have raised.

Clearly, the vulnerabilities in the IT system of the Electoral Commission can be exploited by criminals to compromise the integrity of the December 07, 2024 elections if not addressed.

SIGNED.
Fifi Fiavi Kwetey
GENERAL SECRETARY