Allegation of using stolen BVR kits to secretly register voters baseless

The attention of the commission has been drawn to a Press Conference organized by a group called Election Watch Ghana, during which one Mark Ewusi alleged that the Electoral Commission was using stolen Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) Kits to register people secretly. The Commission urges the public to disregard these baseless and unfounded allegations, as they are without merit.

1. The commission never reported that Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) Kits have been stolen. The commission notified the security agencies that five (5) laptops were missing. The commission subsequently informed all stakeholders about the missing laptops. Describing the missing laptops as BVRs is a deliberate attempt by certain groups to deceive the public in order to sustain their unfounded allegations.

2. As the commission has previously explained, a BVR Kit comprises several essential components: a laptop, a fingerprint scanner, a digital camera, and a printer, among others. These components must be activated all together for the kits to be used to register voters. We repeat the five (5) missing laptops on their own cannot be used to register voters.

3. The ongoing Limited Registration Exercise allows agents of political parties to be present at all registration centers. Accredited Observer Groups and media personnel also have access to all registration centers across the country. Additionally, the commission provides agents of the political parties both Start-of-Day and End-of-Day Reports. This enables them to cross-check the "information" received against their individual records to ensure that, at the end of each day, the total number of registered voters published by the Electoral Commission is not different from what the Political Parties collate at all Registration Centers nationwide.

4. The Commission has acknowledged errors made in specific infographics, i.e., the infographics on the number of challenge cases. The Commission promptly corrected the same. The infographics corrected did not relate to the actual number of registered voters per district and per region. The information provided on the actual number of registered voters per district and per region was accurate. It is important to highlight that to date, no Political Party has disputed the registration figures published by the Electoral Commission. This is because their records tally with that of the Commission.

5. The commission has explained that the serial numbers of BVR Kits play a crucial role in the operation of these devices, particularly in the generation of activation codes essential for their functionality. The commission's decision not to disclose what it considers security-sensitive information cannot be misconstrued as providing cover for the commission to register voters from undisclosed locations. We challenge Election Watch Ghana to provide information on locations where they believe this illegal registration is going on.

6. The commission urges the political parties, who are key stakeholders in the electoral process, to publish their collated daily registration figures from all gazetted Registration Centers and inform the public if the figures published by the Commission do not reflect the number of voters registered at the gazetted Registration Centers where their Agents are stationed.

7. It is a well-known fact that as a result of the transparent processes put in place by the commission at all Registration Centers nationwide, no entity, including the commission, can add or take away from the figures recorded daily at all registration centers. There is, therefore, no iota of truth in the allegations made by Election Watch Ghana to the effect that the Commission is registering people in a secret location. We urge the public to disregard them.

In conclusion, the commission wishes to assure the general public that:

i. All political parties with agents at all gazetted registration centers receive daily Start-of-Day and End-of-Day Reports from the commission. This enables the agents to cross-check their individual records with the commission's End-of-Day Report daily.

ii. The commission provided the political parties with the 2023 Voters Register. The number of registered voters on the 2023 Voters Register is Seventeen million, Nine Hundred, and Thirteen Thousand and Seventy-Two (17,913,072). All Political parties are aware of this fact.

iii. The sum of registered voters on the 2023 Voters Register being seventeen million, nine hundred and thirteen thousand and seventy-two (17,913,072), and the total number of voters registered during the ongoing Limited Exercise, will be published by the Commission prior to the exhibition of the Provisional Register.

We urge the general public to disregard statements from the Election Watch Ghana, as they are baseless and without merit. Thank you.

ELECTION 2024: YOUR VOTE, YOUR FUTURE

MICHAEL BOADU AG. DIRECTOR, PUBLIC AFFAIRS