EC dismisses allegations old BVR kits being used

The Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC) has rejected claims that it is using old biometric voter registration (BVR) kits in the ongoing voter registration exercise across the country. According to the allegations made by some individuals including politicians, about 40 per cent of the kits being used for the ongoing exercise are from the ones procured by the Charlotte Osei-led administration. “The EC however wishes to state on authority that the assertions by these individuals that 40 percent of the BVR kits being used are old kits is an outright lie,” the Commission said in a statement released on Thursday, July 16. “For the avoidance of doubt, all kits currently in use for the registration exercise are BRAND NEW. “There is no single old obsolete kit in the field.” The statement explained that about 8,500 BVR kits were procured from Thales, all of which have been deployed and in use. The Commission said any person who cared to know will notice that the new kits are different from the old ones even from the look, appearance and functionality. “The new BVR Kit is smaller than the old one. “The new BVR kit is portable and easy to carry unlike the old one. “The new BVR kit has three red handles, one at the front and two at the sides whereas the old one has a single handle on the front which is black in colour,” the nation’s election-management body pointed out, adding that even the differences are more apparent once both kits are open. They provided photographs of both kits, observing that the new BVR kits have the EC logo on the cover of the notebook computer. “The old BVR kit does not.” The Commission called out these critics, saying they have made it “their avowed duty to mislead the public on the Commission’s work and processes”. By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|3news.com|Ghana Follow @kwame_amoh]]>