‘Stop moving the goalposts’ – Evans Nimako criticises NDC’s demands
The Director of Elections and Research for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Evans Nimako, has expressed sharp disapproval of the opposition National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) latest demand to examine the Electoral Commission’s IT infrastructure.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, he argued that the NDC is continuously shifting its concerns regarding the 2024 Provisional Voters Register and warned that their demands should be approached cautiously.
Mr Nimako voiced frustration over what he described as the NDC’s evolving list of grievances, noting that their initial focus had been on the accuracy of the voters register.
However, at the recent Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting, the NDC extended its concerns to the EC’s IT systems.
“They must stop changing the goalposts,” Mr Nimako said emphatically.
“Their major issue was the voter register, and now they are extending it to the IT infrastructure. What is it that they want in the IT system? They now want their IT teams to sit with the EC and go into the system. We have to tread cautiously.”
Mr Nimako took the opportunity to highlight how the NPP has addressed its own concerns about the provisional register, contrasting its approach with that of the NDC.
He explained that the NPP had broken the register down to polling station levels and raised their concerns directly with the EC.
“We, as the New Patriotic Party, took a practical approach,” Mr Nimako stated.
“We broke down the register to polling station levels and raised our concerns accordingly. Our General Secretary even wrote to the EC for an official engagement to discuss those concerns.”
He referenced a recent court ruling in the Manhyia South constituency that ordered the correction of illegally transferred voters as an example of how the system is being scrutinised.
“The courts have stepped in where necessary, such as in the Manhyia South case, where voters’ numbers were ordered to be compared back to their original polling stations,” he added.
While Mr Nimako acknowledged the importance of having a clean voters register, he was sceptical of the NDC’s insistence on delving into the Electoral Commission’s IT infrastructure.
He warned that giving political parties direct access to the IT system could lead to complications.
“Treading cautiously is key. Forensic audits are one thing, but giving political parties direct access to the IT system is a sensitive issue,” Mr Nimako said.
“The NDC has moved from discussing the voter register to now wanting to examine the IT system, but this needs to be carefully managed.”
Mr Nimako also addressed the NDC’s concerns over missing voters, noting that despite the EC’s efforts to resolve the issue, the opposition still disagrees.
He stated that out of the over 1,551 voters whose data was missing from the register, the EC had a plan to rectify the situation by providing a “Missing Voters List” on Election Day.
“The EC has assured us that they know the polling stations and have contact numbers for these voters. If they cannot re-register them, they will still appear on a Missing Voters List,” he explained.
“Despite this, the NDC still disagrees, and for us, it seems like part of their broader strategy to keep raising issues.”
Mr Nimako stated that the NPP is ready for the upcoming elections and urged the EC to release the revised provisional voter register for further examination.
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