Director of Elections and IT for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Omane Boamah has criticized the Electoral Commission (EC) for misleading the public regarding the YASARKO contract.
He accused the EC of failing to conduct proper due diligence on the company’s readiness to deliver.
He argued that the EC is trying to deceive Ghanaians into believing that YASARKO’s inability to meet expectations surfaced suddenly. According to him, YASARKO successfully printed electoral materials in 2008 under his supervision, but he questioned the EC’s failure to verify whether the company still had the capacity to perform the task. He described the situation as a failure in the relationship between the EC and its contractors, raising concern about the tender process.
The Electoral Commission, in a press release dated October 27, 2024, announced that Yasarko Press will no longer handle the printing of Presidential and Parliamentary ballot papers for the Oti and Western North Regions in the upcoming 2024 elections. Instead, Buck Press has been tasked with printing the ballot papers for the Oti Region and other commercial materials for the Western North Region. This decision follows concerns raised by the NDC, who highlighted irregularities in Yasarko’s operations.
In a Facebook post on Monday, October 28, Dr. Omane Boamah highlighted several operational challenges facing the EC, including stolen Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) and Biometric Verification Devices (BVD) kits, arithmetic errors during the limited voter registration exercise, and persistent network challenges. He also pointed to alleged manipulation of the voters register and procurement irregularities as signs of systemic failures.
He urged Ghanaians to remain vigilant about the EC’s activities and called for a change in leadership by voting for John Dramani Mahama. He emphasized that the 24-hour economy initiative promised by Mahama would create better-paying jobs and improve the lives of citizens.
He reiterated the need for continuous scrutiny of both the EC and the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) as the country prepares for elections. He ended with a call for action, urging Ghanaians to stay alert and focused on ensuring accountability in the electoral process.