The Electoral Commission (EC) has debunked claims made by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) regarding missing Biometric Verification Devices (BVD).
The EC clarified that, none of its BVDs are missing, contrary to the NDC’s assertions.
Instead, the EC revealed that only five laptops were stolen from their custody.
Addressing inquiries from the NDC concerning the alleged seven missing BVD machines, Dr. Bossman Asare, the Deputy Chair in charge of Corporate Services, urged for calm and assured the public that the theft of the laptops would not affect the integrity of the 2024 elections.
On Tuesday, March 19, the Minority Caucus expressed concerns about the stolen BVD machines, with Minority leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson urging the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Police Service to promptly investigate the matter.
But, Dr. Bossman Asare clarified that all biometric devices are securely stored, affirming the Commission’s preparedness for the December polls.
“We are fully ready for the election and we can confirm that five laptops have been stolen and these are laptops that do not contain any information about anyone. They do not contain information, so there are no risks.”
He also addressed the contradictions people have about BVDs and BVRs.
“We are also picking up information that people are contradicting the BVDs and the BVRs. BVDs are used for verification and BVRs are for registration.
You will have to connect the two devices before you can use them and with the BVDs, they are used only when we are going to vote. If someone steals the BVDs, they cannot use them and we want to emphasize that five laptops are missing and we are working with the police to retrieve them” Dr. Asare explained.