The Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana has refuted allegations of missing Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) .
This follows concerns raised by Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson about missing devices, prompting for investigations by the Ghana Police Service and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to determine the whereabouts of the devices.
Responding to claims made by the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, that asserted that seven devices were missing following recent voter registration activities, the Deputy Chairperson in charge of Operations at the EC, Samuel Tettey starkly refuted the claims during a news conference in Accra.
Mr. Tettey clarified that during routine servicing of the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) Kits, five laptops were discovered missing. However, he emphasized that these laptops, and part of the BVR Kits, were separate from the Commission’s Registration Data Systems and are incapable of manipulating election outcome as suggested.
“The Commission recently undertook routine servicing of its biometric voter registration kits. It was during this maintenance that we discovered the theft of five laptops from the biometric voter registration kits, not seven BVDs, as previously stated. The stolen laptops cannot be utilized for voter verification or registration. It remains just a laptop.”
“As such, they cannot be used to compromise our systems and undermine the credibility of the upcoming elections in December 2024. At the completion of every registration exercise, all data captured are erased from the laptops in a process termed ‘End of life'”.
The Electoral Commission has addressed concerns about the efficiency of its security architecture, stating that it has not been breached but rather has increased security measures.
“We have a well-structured and well installed security system, apart from the police who have there, apart from the national security who have there, the Commission also has its own security. The Commission has also beefed up the security measures at where we are working”.
The EC has restated its commitment to transparency and integrity in its operations and elections, emphasizing the value placed on its assets and the continuous reliance on security measures to safeguard all installations.
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Story by: Lartey Ebenezer | univers.ug.edu.gh
