Accra, Ghana//-The Director of Elections for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has dismissed claims that the Electoral Commission informed the public about the missing Biometric Voter Registration (BVD) kits from its headquarters.
According to Dr Edward Omane Boamah, the EC did not voluntarily supply the information about the alleged theft of the BVDs at its headquarters, but it was rather the NDC’s intelligence that picked up the theft case and questioned the EC in parliament.
Speaking to JoyNews on Tuesday, April 9 after an IPAC meeting, Dr Boamah questioned the EC’s delay in announcing the missing BVDs to the political parties.
“And so when the agenda included this briefing on the Biometric Voter Registration kits, we decided that we would put forward the pertinent questions which we read all to them. I would say over 97% of the questions were not answered,” he said.
Dr Boamah expressed disappointment that significant components of biometric verification registration kits were stolen at the headquarters of the Electoral Commission which is under CCTV surveillance.
He emphasised that if the EC claims that the missing BDVs have been found, then it should tell the political parties the date and time on which the devices were found.
The NDC’s Director of Elections continued, “Who or how were the missing items discovered? How many are missing or cannot be found or traced because it was NDC that picked up intel?
“What is the full scope of this theft that has been confirmed? What are the serial numbers of the missing items under discussion, and the serial numbers are very important when we get to data integrity. Does the EC have the purchasing invoices together with serial numbers at the time of the purchase of the missing items?
“Did the EC have an official recorded inventory of the missing items before the theft? Is there a present inventory of such sensitive items to aid a comprehensive public inquiry that can allay the fears of all stakeholders?” he questioned.
Regarding the investigation, Dr Boamah stated that the EC informed the political parties that it reported the matter to the police. He thus wondered when the EC became aware that those kits had been stolen from its headquarters. Myjoyonline
