KEY POINTS
- IMANI alleges misappropriation and waste of biometric voter systems.
- The EC disposed of expensive devices without transparency or due process.
- Some machines contained sensitive voter data posing national security risks.
IMANI was instructed this morning to submit a petition for an investigation to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice.
We are requesting that the Commission look into any administrative, legal, or constitutional infractions pertaining to the disposal of equipment by the Electoral Commission of Ghana.
IMANI demands answers over biometric voter systems disposal
IMANI’s colleagues and I are still deeply troubled by the way the Electoral Commission has mishandled the country’s already limited resources.
This behavior, in our opinion, amounts to the theft, waste, and abuse of vital public resources intended to promote election transparency.
Ghana, which is laboring under a strict IMF-supervised fiscal regime and is not paying off its national debt, cannot afford such heinous behavior.
We pointed out in the petition that the Electoral Commission disposed of tens of thousands of costly biometric voting machines and prematurely retired.
These include devices that could still be useful to public institutions or government organizations, such as digital cameras, laptops, scanners, printers, and fingerprint verifiers.
We think that the Commission’s actions show a serious conflict between its public obligations and its preference for third parties and commercial contractors.
We asserted that the Commission’s actions, which stem from a pattern of deception and evasion of procurement responsibility since 2020, suggest possible corruption.
If the referral moves forward or if we learn of any new information or legal steps, IMANI will keep the public informed.
We hope that Ghana’s accountability institutions will fulfill their obligation to protect accountability, transparency, and the rule of law.
IMANI pushes for action, cites misuse of biometric voter systems
According to Joynews, IMANI raised concerns about the Commission’s disposal procedures in 2024 after finding thousands of biometric devices at Electro Recycling Ghana’s plant.
Following our findings, the Commission released a number of replies that simply served to heighten public anxiety and suspicions of wrongdoing.
In order to evade accountability and hide the reality regarding the dates of equipment acquisition, we think the Commission purposefully suppressed inventory records.
We also believe that the disposal procedure made it possible for some players to make money by purchasing expensive prime equipment and throwing away the leftover scrap.
If verified, these acts fall under the widely recognized definition of corruption, which is the misuse of authority and resources for personal gain.
In the end, we contend that the Commission’s acts are against the laws and rules pertaining to financial management, public procurement, data protection, and electoral systems.
