The Team Lead for Elections Anti-Corruption and Rule of Law at the Center for Democratic Development (CDD – Ghana), Gildfred Boateng Asiamah, says that the ongoing disagreements between the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Electoral Commission (EC) over the missing BVRs and accessories is fundamentally about trust and communication issues.
This follows the NDC’s demands for the Electoral Commission (EC) to release the serial numbers of the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) equipment currently deployed for the limited voter registration exercise to enable it account for polls outcome.
Speaking on the JoyNews AM show on May 10, he stated that “the contention between the Electoral Commission and the NDC regarding the lost BVD and components of the BVR kits, I think, is about an issue of trust and also communication.
“There are no protocols for disclosing whatever happens at the office of the Electoral Commission, but I think in the name of transparency, maybe the Electoral Commission should be providing more information and should be proactive in communicating. The Electoral Commission should be communicating more with the stakeholders.”
He emphasised that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has every right to voice their concerns about the ongoing situation.
“So far as the registration process is concerned, I think there is enough room for the party to follow through with the process to avoid some of these back-and-forth and arguments in the media. First of all, we are aware of the EC deployment plan. We know all the district offices where the Commission is conducting the exercise.
“Besides, the Electoral Commission published the movement plan, where we know all the polling stations where registration is taking place. Party agents are allowed to record the number of people who enter these registration centres and take part in the process. They can tally all the figures.
“They can get at the end of every day the number of people who are registered. So, I think these are enough rooms for the party to follow through the process to hold the EC or any person who has bad intentions accountable so far as the limited voter registration exercise is concerned,” he said.
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