By Ahmed Gedel
IT IS IMPORTANT to protect the ballot box, but it is more important to protect the vote numbers/counts that emanate from the ballot box.
NDC must consider the establishment of an Electoral Fraud detection and mitigation task force. The task force must include Ballot Box Protection Plan (BBPP).
The purpose of the task force is to carefully under study the hierarchy of electoral fraud and develop innovative strategies for its detection and mitigation.
Below is the hierarchy of electoral fraud perpetrated by corrupt governments in collaboration with recalcitrant, bias, and incompetent election management bodies.
1. Inaccurate or imperfect Voter’s Register.
2. Vote buying and intimidation.
3. Ballot- box snatching and stuffing.
4. Altering the vote count/vote numbers at the polling station.
5. Altering the vote count/numbers during the tabulation at the constituency collation center.
6. Altering the vote count/numbers during the tabulation at the regional collation center.
7. Altering the vote count/numbers during the tabulation at the national collation center.
8. Altering the vote count/numbers using computer- aided technology( cyber fraud)
We must develop a strategy to overcome each of these fraud.
Source:Nationaltymes.com