We haven’t imported faulty biometric devices – EC

The Electoral Commission (EC) has denied a publication suggesting that it has imported faulty biometric voter registration devices from Nigeria to Ghana.

The publication, which according to the EC was written by one Owula Mangortey claimed among others that “surveillance was mounted on two vehicles carrying 7,000 new biometric voter devices and 2,800 old ones, one of which moved to the Electoral Commission from the Osu Castle at 1.00am.”

The EC in a statement signed by its Director of Public Affairs, Sylvia Annoh asked Ghanaians to disregard the allegations.

“The Electoral Commission wishes to caution the general public to be wary of such dangerous elements in society who will stop at nothing to peddle malicious falsehood to misinform Ghanaians, tarnish its reputable image and create needless fear and panic in the country.”

“The EC would like to state clearly that the allegations are a figment of the writer’s imagination since it has not imported any such equipment into the country…The security agencies are being called upon by the Commission to get to the bottom of this matter.”

These allegations come in the wake of the EC’s plans to abandon its current biometric verification system and procure a new one that has a facial recognition technology.

The EC is compiling what it says is a more credible and efficient register with facial recognition component to tackle verification challenges that occur on election day.

The move has been heavily criticized by some political parties including the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The group maintains that any money spent on the register will be a waste of taxpayer money.

The NDC even went as far as walking out of a meeting with the EC on December 10, 2019, when the matter came up.

The EC had earlier given suggestions that it was determined to go ahead with its plan without the buy-in of the opposing political parties, raising concerns about the lack of consensus among the stakeholders.

But on the 15^th of January, 2020, the EC’s Eminent Advisory Committee called for calm and said it planned to meet the various stakeholders on the matter.

Hundreds join ‘Yenpini’ demo in Kumasi

Hundreds of protesters last Tuesday, poured onto the streets of the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi to join in a demonstration to put pressure on the Electoral Commission to abort its decision to compile a new voters’ register ahead of the 2020 general elections.

Addressing a rally after the demonstration, the National Chairman of the NDC, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo announced the suspension of planned subsequent demonstrations due to calls by the EC’s Eminent Advisory Committee to calm as they work to ensure a meeting organized with the EC.

“Due to the respect we have for our Eminent elders, the NDC and the other parties that form the coalition and CSOs, we will suspend our demonstrations and wait on the Eminent personalities, to see whether the EC will listen to them and allow us to meet to dialogue on this matter”.