The Electoral Commission (EC) has firmly rejected allegations of secret registration of applicants onto the national album for the 2024 elections, labeling them as baseless and without merit. The election management body urged the public to disregard these claims, emphasizing that the five missing laptops cannot be used to register applicants.
These allegations arose from a news conference held by Election Watch Ghana in Accra on May 20, where the group alleged that the EC was using the missing Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits for secret registrations.
The convenor of Election Watch Ghana, Mark Ewusi, asserted that the group believed “…the EC’s mistake on Day two was not accidental but rather figures coming from the stolen BVRs.”
“We can firmly conclude that the stolen BVRs are in the custody of unscrupulous individuals who are their counterparts, concocting and illegally registering unqualified people with the BVRs in question,” he noted.
However, in a press statement, the EC dismissed these claims as unfounded and misleading. “The attention of the Commission has been drawn to a press conference by a group called Election Watch Ghana, during which one Mark Ewusi alleged that the Electoral Commission was using stolen BVR kits to register people secretly. The Commission urges the public to disregard these baseless and unfounded allegations as they are without merit,” it stated.
The EC clarified that it had reported five missing laptops to security agencies, not BVR kits. The commission described the characterization of the missing laptops as BVR kits as a deliberate attempt to deceive the public.
Furthermore, it highlighted the transparency of the ongoing limited voter registration exercise, noting that political party agents at registration centers receive start- and end-of-day updates from the Commission. This transparency, it emphasized, is crucial for maintaining the integrity of the process and the trust of stakeholders.
The Commission also reiterated that political party agents, election observer groups, the media, and accredited persons are permitted to visit registration centers to observe the exercise, ensuring an open and accountable process.
Click here to read full statement
About The Author
