EC must allow for independent audit voters’ register if it has nothing to hide – Kwaku Azar
Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare widely known as Kwaku Azar has argued that periodic auditing of complex systems such as Ghana’s Voters’ Register is a desirable thing to do and ought not to be politicized, calling on the Electoral Commission (EC) to accept the request for a forensic audit of the Voters’ Register. He explained that […] The post EC must allow for independent audit voters’ register if it has nothing to hide – Kwaku Azar appeared first on MyNewsGh.
Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare widely known as Kwaku Azar has argued that periodic auditing of complex systems such as Ghana’s Voters’ Register is a desirable thing to do and ought not to be politicized, calling on the Electoral Commission (EC) to accept the request for a forensic audit of the Voters’ Register.
He explained that the Electoral Commission of Ghana must subject the Voters’ Register to an independent forensic audit so as to dispel perceptions that it has something to hide, asserting that it is only rational for people to assume that the EC has something untoward going on if it rejects the request for an audit.
“The need for an audit is not something that should be politicized. All systems, certainly complex ones like an electoral system, must be subject to periodic independent audits.
Since rational people will assume that an anti-audit EC has something to hide, it is in the interest of any EC to support an independent audit unless whatever the EC is hiding is worse than what rational people assume it’s hiding,” Prof Azar argued.
It is his contention that the EC should be at the forefront of advocating for a forensic audit notwithstanding the politicisation of the need for audits or otherwise by politicians.
“…Even if short-term oriented politicians seek to politicize the need for audits, the EC itself should not participate in such politics and should, at all times, advocate for audits,” he asserted.
The opposition National Democratic Congress NDC has threatened to embark on a nationwide demonstration on September 17, 2024, in demand for an independent forensic audit of the Voters’ Register before the conduct of the 2024 General Elections in December this year.
The party said it had uncovered irregularities with the register and is convinced that only an independent forensic audit would resolve the issues.
However, the EC has rejected the request for an independent forensic audit, explaining that the NDC’s concerns are being addressed.
The post EC must allow for independent audit voters’ register if it has nothing to hide – Kwaku Azar appeared first on MyNewsGh.
