NDC raises concerns over Electoral Commission’s communication of 2024 election calendar

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has voiced its displeasure regarding what it perceives as a misstep by the Electoral Commission (EC) in the public disclosure of the electoral calendar for the upcoming 2024 elections.

According to the NDC, the EC failed to directly communicate the election itinerary to political parties, instead relying on media publications to disseminate the information. Mustapha Gbande, the Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, expressed his discontent in an interview with Citi News.

Gbande emphasized that the party learned about the electoral calendar through media reports, characterizing this approach as unconventional and detrimental to the commission's reputation.

“It's quite unsurprising, very unprecedented for the first time in the history of our country that a commission has failed to provide a calendar of each work, after the 2020 election; three years, two months gone, we are having ten months to elections, stakeholders do not know the line-up of the activities and the budgetary time that is put to it.”

“The EC wakes up and now decided to come to the public through the window, instead of its doors, instead of avenues to communicate to the public responsibly and as an institution, do that, which is in the interest of the people.”

In contrast, the EC is expected to receive nominations of candidates for this year's presidential and parliamentary elections from September 9 to 13, marking a significant countdown to the climax of the political season.

Following the nomination period, the EC will conduct the balloting for positions on the presidential ballot paper on September 23, 2024, and the parliamentary balloting on September 24, 2024.

Moreover, the EC anticipates releasing the results of the 2024 presidential election three days after the polls close.

As part of its general election activities, a voter registration drive is scheduled between May 7–27, 2024. This will be followed by a nationwide voter ID card replacement drive on May 30, 2024.

However, the registration exercise will be preceded by 56 days of public education on the exercise from April 1 to May 26, 2024.