8th February 2025

The opposition New Democratic Party is pressing for a public broadcast of the tallying of votes cast in the presidential race during the general elections.

An extensive set of changes that the party believes might significantly boost the polls’ legitimacy can be found in a document titled “NDC Position Paper on Electoral Reforms.” One of the primary ideas is a year-round voter registration program that would let anyone turning 18 come into an EC office and register.

“Citizens who turn 18 or who have not previously registered may visit any district office of the EC and register as voters under this all-year-round system,” the paper reads.

The party believes that the EC may cut down on any potential expenses by having registration at its district offices on the final Friday of every month.

It continues by saying that by doing this, party representatives and candidate agents will be able to attend and monitor the registration process as it is happening. If passed, the party predicts four major consequences; that a year-round display of the Voters’ Register is required.

A deadline ought to be established for the ongoing registration.
After every census or every seven years, specific times should be set aside for the limited registration of individuals who have recently reached voting age or who may not have previously registered to vote.
It is not necessary to create brand-new voter registrations that require every person of voting age to stand in line to register.

The party also requests that the EC stick to the current voting schedule of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. rather than giving in to pressure for an earlier closing time. According to the NDC, a 10-hour window of time enables a wide spectrum of citizens, including those with jobs or other obligations, to cast ballots.

Additionally, it gives voters the freedom to select a time that works for them, taking into account a variety of schedules. For instance, a sizable portion of voters are farmers and fishermen, who would prefer to take advantage of the brisk mornings to visit their farms and the sea, returning in the afternoons to cast their ballots, which is typically after three o’clock. The party suggested that “ending voting at 3 p.m. is a sure way of disenfranchising them.”

The opposition party is requesting that the military only be present as stand-by personnel at strategic locations, ready to be called in by the police if needed, rather than being stationed at registration and voting locations. The public has harshly criticized the Military in recent years for the way it has handled election security.

Therefore, the party thinks that having such a setup could lessen the possibility of voter intimidation and improper influence, which can compromise the integrity and fairness of elections.

The Party is requesting that regulations allow its agents and other parties’ agents to supervise the transmission of collated results at every stage of the process, as well as at both ends of the results’ transmission. It states that for such transmitted collated findings to be accepted, the party agents at the receiving end must verify and authenticate them.

The NDC also thinks that as soon as the constituency presidential results are known, live coverage of the EC Head Office’s process of tallying the votes could lead to increased transparency. It thinks that by drawing attention to the potential for lessening vote tampering, it could also boost confidence in the accuracy of the results.

The Electoral Commission should also form the Election Adjudication Committee (EAC) to review contested results before they are formally declared.

The EAC should include representatives from political parties, EC officers, stakeholder CSOs, and agents of independent presidential candidates. It also desires a constituency-level replication of the EAC.

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