IMANI Centre for Policy and Education has criticized the Electoral Commission of Ghana for what it describes as the Commission’s “dangerous and pathological conduct”.
The policy think group in a statement accused the leadership of the country’s electoral management body of alleged mishandling of sensitive biometric equipment, raising serious concerns about transparency, accountability, and the safeguarding of voter information.
IMANI Africa, a prominent Ghanaian think tank and a vocal critic of the Electoral Commission’s decision to compile a new electoral register ahead of the 2020 general election also cited concerns over “shady procurement practices” and the perceived “wasteful expenditure” of resources in supporting its condemnation of the Commission.
Its statement began by arguing that the country’s initial biometric voting management system (BVMS) remained functional and required only minor maintenance to facilitate the 2020 elections.
However, according to IMANI’s statement, the Electoral Commission of Ghana not only disregarded these concerns but also engaged in perceived deceptive practices to justify its decision to procure a new BVMS for the 2020 general elections.
The statement noted with concerns that IMANI Centre for Policy and Education’s Honorary Vice President, Bright Simons initially uncovered alarming details indicating that the EC had clandestinely disposed of biometric devices, crucial components of the BVMS, to recycling companies without public notice or proper tender processes.
According to the statement, Mr Simons’s findings also revealed that these actions never appeared for discussion during the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meetings, through which the Electoral Commission engages with its political stakeholders.
The statement bemoaned that of particular concern is the revelation that these recycling companies lack the necessary certifications for secure data destruction, raising fears about the potential exposure of sensitive voter information.
IMANI Africa further emphasized the importance of stringent protocols for disposing of electronic equipment containing personal data, highlighting the inadequacy of the EC’s actions in this regard.
“IMANI have since done our checks and we are shocked at the EC’s recklessness. It is universally known that wiping off data from electronic devices does not permanently erase them. Hence, disposal of electronic equipment containing sensitive traces of personal data, voter information no less, requires extremely thorough protocols that only a few specialized recycling companies, properly so certified, can handle. But we were not prepared for the sheer mendacity, audacity, and shamelessness of the EC’s response to our colleague. The EC’s press statement was full of lies, half-truths, and pure fantasies”.
IMANI Centre for Policy and Education
Auctioning of EC’s Devices
Furthermore, the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education raised critical questions regarding the Electoral Commission’s handling of the auction process, including the identity of the auctioneers, the transparency of the bidding process, and the rationale behind the disposal of such a small number of devices out of the over 70,000 devices the EC’s had in its possession.
The statement challenged the Electoral Commission’s assertion that refurbishing the old devices would have been more costly than procuring new ones, citing evidence suggesting otherwise.
The statement posited that the Electoral Commission of Ghana “lied” about the costs of refurbishment because it has no evidence to show that the original makers of the equipment, HSB, and the software provider, Genkey, provided them with invoices or any quotations backing up such “fantastical” claims that refurbishment would have cost more than fresh procurement.
IMANI Africa’s statement emphasized that per its independent checks, it found out that refurbishment of the devices would have cost less than 10% of what the Electoral Commission spent because many of the devices were barely two years old and had been used only once.
Moreover, the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education accused the Electoral Commission of systematically misleading the public about the obsolescence of the biometric infrastructure and inflating the costs associated with refurbishment.
The statement noted that despite presenting compelling evidence from parliamentary records, and independent audits, the Electoral Commission has allegedly failed to address these concerns adequately.
The statement further noted that as late as 2019, the EC was refurbishing the perceived obsolete equipment for use in the 2019 December referendum that was eventually canceled, stressing that the EC successfully held the referendum for the new regions in December 2018 and the 2019 District Assembly elections using the same equipment that it later claimed to be obsolete.
“The EC disputes our colleague’s claims of amounts spent on the biometric voting system as well as previous figures provided by IMANI. Yet, in their tabulation of costs, they barefacedly refused to include the costs of new software, licenses, and upgrades; the new VSAT systems procured to sync with the new data center; the software shadily procured from Neurotechnology of Lithuania; and the cost of consulting, installation, and logistics, etc.
In estimating the cost of the EC’s decision to jettison the existing system for the new one that it rigged public procurement processes to acquire, IMANI has always made it clear that it is accounting for a total cost of ownership. It is thus monstrously deceitful for the EC to list the costs of just the devices, as if by their decision to jettison the existing system the only resulting costs to the nation are limited to the new devices procured”.
IMANI Centre for Policy and Education
In light of these revelations, the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education strongly asserted that the EC, in its current state, is plagued by systemic mismanagement and a lack of accountability.
The statement strongly posited that the current leadership of the Electoral Commission is not willing to conform to its ethical obligations, describing such conduct as unfortunate.
The policy think tank group concluded its statement by calling for a comprehensive overhaul of the EC’s leadership and practices to restore public trust and uphold ethical standards in the country’s electoral administration.
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