None of our BVDs has been stolen – EC
The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) says none of its Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) has been stolen.
The Commission admitted that some of its working tools have been stolen but they do not include BVDs.
Dr Samuel Tettey, Deputy Commission of EC in charge of Operations, said the missing items are five laptops. “These allegations are not true. No BVD has been stolen,” Dr Tettey said.
He refuted the claims at a press conference at the EC’s Headquarters in Accra on 20th March, 2024.
The press conference was organized purposely to respond to allegations levelled against the EC by the Minority caucus in parliament on 19th March 2024, regarding the missing BVDs.
It would be recalled that Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Deputy Minority Leader, on March 19, said the Electoral Commission (EC) had confirmed that seven of its BVDs cannot be identified.
The Minority Leader therefore called on the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service and other security agencies to immediately issue a statement and give details of the investigations so far.
Dr Ato Forson said he was concerned and worried because if the devices fell into the hands of an unknown person, he or she could compromise the future elections.
But addressing the media, Dr Tettey said the allegations were not true and that the missing items were five laptops.
He said the EC discovered that the laptops were missing when it undertook routine servicing of its Voter Biometric Registration (BVR) kits which comprises laptops, camera, scanner, and printer.
He however allayed the fears of Ghanaians that the stolen laptops could not be utilized for voter verification or registration.
He said the laptops remained just a laptops and they could not be used to compromise the EC’s systems and undermine the credibility of the upcoming elections in December 2024.
Dr Tettey also pointed out that the laptops did not contain any sensitive data at the time they were stolen because the EC, at the completion of every registration exercise, “erases all data captured on the laptops in a process termed End of Life.”
“As such, we assure the public that the stolen laptops contain no sensitive or valuable data. Consequently, the theft bears no impact on the integrity of upcoming elections, nor does it serve any political agenda as insinuated,” he said.
Speaking on the steps the EC is taking to retrieve the missing laptops, Dr Tettey said his outfit notified the security agencies involved in the maintenance process upon detection of the theft, and investigations are actively ongoing to apprehend and prosecute the suspects.
Responding to concerns on how safe the EC’s equipment are, Dr Bossman Eric Asare, Deputy Commissioner of EC in charge of Services, the Commission remained committed to upholding the highest standards of transparency and integrity in its operations and elections and would not compromise on its installations.
He said the Commission had always replied on the Police and other security agencies to protect its equipment and would continue to do so.
He urged the public to exercise due diligence by verifying information before dissemination to prevent unwarranted fear or panic
GNA
