Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, the Director of Elections for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), says the Electoral Commission (EC) did not voluntarily disclose information regarding the missing Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) from its headquarters.
Dr. Boamah clarified that it was the NDC’s intelligence that uncovered the case of the alleged theft of the BVDs, prompting the party to raise questions about it during a parliamentary session.
He stated, “The EC did not voluntarily supply the information about the alleged theft of the BVDs at its headquarters. It was rather the NDC’s intelligence that picked up the theft case and questioned the EC in parliament.”
During an interview with JoyNews on Tuesday, April 9, following an IPAC meeting, Dr. Boamah expressed dissatisfaction with the EC’s delayed announcement to political parties regarding the missing BVDs, especially considering the devices were stolen from the headquarters, which is under CCTV surveillance.
He emphasized, “And so when the agenda included this briefing on the biometric devices, we decided that we would put forward the pertinent questions which we read all to them. I would say over 97% of the questions were not answered.”
He highlighted the need for the EC to provide specific details about the missing devices, including the date and time they were discovered, the manner in which they were found, and the serial numbers of the missing items.
Dr. Boamah added, “Who or how were the missing items discovered? How many are missing or cannot be found or traced because it was NDC that picked up intel?”
Nonetheless, Dr. Boamah also raised questions about the EC’s inventory management and whether it had records of the missing items prior to the theft, as well as the current inventory status.
He further questioned, “Did the EC have an official recorded inventory of the missing items prior to the theft? Is there a present inventory of such sensitive items to aid a comprehensive public inquiry that can allay the fears of all stakeholders?”
Regarding the investigation, Dr. Boamah noted that the EC informed political parties that it had reported the matter to the police.
He questioned when the EC became aware of the theft of the kits from its headquarters.