The Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has expressed scepticism about the reported theft of some Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits from the Electoral Commission’s warehouse.
Describing it as “extremely strange”, the NDC chairman, in a one-on-one interview with Evans Mensah on JoyNews’ PM Express on Wednesday, questioned the security measures in place at the EC headquarters and the warehouse where the BVR kits are stored.
He argued that with the stringent security protocols typically associated with safeguarding sensitive equipment like BVR kits, it would be implausible for them to go missing without a trace.
“It would be extremely strange for anybody to say that a thief just broke into EC’s warehouse and took five BVR kits and therefore declare them missing and that they don’t have any trace as to who did that” he said on Wednesday.
Drawing from his experience working in a bank, Mr Nketia likened the security procedures for cash to those for the BVR kits, emphasising the importance of tracking access to the storage facility.
He highlighted the existence of CCTV cameras and armed security personnel at the EC headquarters.
Mr Nketia therefore raised questions regarding the reported theft, such as who had access to the warehouse and whether it was indeed a break-in.
He called for a thorough analysis of protocols to determine what went wrong and demanded accountability from the Electoral Commission.
“We’ve gotten to a point where even the three top commissioners move with a certain number of armed security personnel always. The EC Chairperson’s house is guarded by soldiers with an armored car there and the EC headquarters. So in spite of all these, we’re being told that some thieves suddenly came to the EC warehouse and picked up this sensitive equipment and there is no trace as to who did it. Who was in charge of the key at that time? Was it a break-in? What happened?” he quizzed.
The Chairman’s remarks join the string of accusations and concerns raised by the opposition party regarding the integrity of the electoral process ahead of the upcoming 2024 elections.
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