The Deputy Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Malik Basintale, has emphasized the critical role vigilance plays in the party’s success in elections and asserted that his party wins whenever elections are free and fair.
Speaking in an interview, December 16, he stated, “Anytime there is vigilance, anytime things are done right, the NDC wins.”
Mr Basintale further explained that the NDC’s electoral success is driven by two key factors: engaging the electorate with their policies and, most importantly, ensuring constant vigilance throughout the election process. “That is what we did in the election,” he said, emphasizing that it was this combination of campaigning and careful monitoring that led to the party’s resounding victory.
He reflected on the 2016 election, which he claims was undermined by system manipulation. According to Mr Basintale, the Electoral Commission (EC) confirmed that the system had been shut down, which, he believes, directly affected the election results. “We know what we’re saying because our internal research unit found that the system was hacked, and the EC confirmed it,” he asserted.
In a bid to prevent such issues from recurring, the NDC formed a team to investigate why they lost in 2016. The team uncovered several irregularities, including instances of voter fraud.
One example involved a polling station with 500 registered voters, yet the ballot box contained 700 votes. “We found that, in some cases, one person was able to vote multiple times at different polling stations,” Mr Basintale explained.
Thanks to their vigilance, the NDC was able to identify and remove approximately 500,000 duplicate entries from the voter register. “That’s how we secured our victory,” he said, emphasizing that their careful scrutiny of the system was crucial to ensuring a fair result.
Mr Basintale also highlighted an alleged discovery of one million thumb-printed ballots intended for Dr Bawumia found stashed in a room. “Had we not been vigilant at the polling stations, those one million ballots would have been cast, and the NDC would have lost,” he stated.
For Mr Basintale, the key to the NDC’s electoral victories lies in ensuring that elections are free, fair, and closely monitored. He firmly believes that without this vigilance, electoral malpractice would go unchecked, leading to unjust outcomes.
