Ghana’s main opposition party on Friday accused the Electoral Commission of tampering with the voter registry, raising tensions three months before December presidential elections.
Already the election is set to be a tight contest between ruling NPP party candidate and current Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and opposition NDC flagbearer and former president John Mahama.
The NDC, or National Democratic Congress, claims the commission has colluded with the ruling party to manipulate the register in its favour to include 50,000 deceased people, illegally transfer votes and omit legitimate voters.
The Electoral Commission has rejected the NDC’s demands for an audit, dismissing the allegations as unfounded.
The accusations came after the registry was exhibited in August to the public for voters to correct names, delete people who are dead and correct gender mistakes.
Rashid Tanko-Computer, the NDC's deputy director of elections and IT, has called for an immediate forensic audit of the electoral roll to ensure the credibility of the upcoming vote.
"We have uncovered disturbing irregularities in the voter register that threaten the integrity of this election," he told AFP on Friday.
"A forensic audit is essential to guarantee that every Ghanaian vote is counted fairly."
The NDC has scheduled a nationwide protest for September 17 to pressure the commission into conducting the audit before the electoral process proceeds.
Both candidates in the vote hail from the northern region, a first in Ghana's political history.
In response to the NDC, Samuel Tettey, the Electoral Commission's deputy chairman in charge of operations, dismissed the call for a forensic audit as "misguided and unnecessary."
"The purpose of the voter register exhibition was to identify and correct errors. The NDC’s accusations are without merit," Tettey told AFP, urging the opposition to engage in dialogue rather than resorting to protests.
The controversy unfolds as President Nana Akufo-Addo prepares to step down after serving two terms, as mandated by the constitution.
The election campaign is expected to focus on Ghana's economic recovery following the 2022 financial crisis, after the country defaulted on its external debt.
Ghana, which produces oil, gold and cocoa, is gradually recovering with the help of a $3-billion International Monetary Fund relief package.