A Fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Dr. John Osae-Kwapong, has asserted that stories about missing Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) tend to cast doubt on the sanctity of the electoral processes as the 2024 general elections beckon.
According to the minority leader of Parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the Electoral Commission (EC) has confirmed that seven of its BVDs cannot be identified.
The minority leader has since called on the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service and other security agencies to “immediately issue a statement giving us the details of their investigations so far,” adding, “I am concerned and worried because that devices in the hands of an unknown person can compromise the future elections”.
However, Dr. Osae-Kwapong, reacting to the development on TV3’s Ghana Tonight programme on Tuesday, March 19, underscored the significance of the EC ensuring all concerns and doubts that may arise from any quarters are carefully dealt with to increase trust.
Missing BDVs: Such stories can begin to create fears and spark conversations that one will like to avoid in an election year. – Dr. John Osae-Kwapong, CDD Fellow#GhanaTonight pic.twitter.com/QSt0mqu7O9
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) March 20, 2024
“If there is one [BVD] per constituency…one would be tempted to say that, in the grand scheme of things, seven devices missing doesn’t really hurt the process. But I think for me, because it is an election year, we have a very important election coming up. The last thing you want are stories like these coming from the Electoral Commission”, said Dr. Osae-Kwapong.
He added that “such stories begin to create, unfortunately, doubts or start raising questions about the integrity of the EC, the integrity of the electoral system. And so, for me, that is what makes this story concerning”.
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Dr. Osae-Kwapong therefore urged the EC to respond urgently to the concerns raised by the minority to increase trust in the commission going into the December 7 elections.
Meanwhile, TV3 sources at the commission have indicated that the commission will, in the coming days, address the concerns of the minority regarding the missing BVDs, stressing that the situation is not as dire as the minority portrayed.