The Team Lead for Elections Anti-Corruption and Rule of Law at the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Gildfred Boateng Asiamah, has stated that the current disputes between the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Electoral Commission (EC) regarding the missing BVRs and accessories stem from fundamental issues of trust and communication.
The NDC has demanded that the Electoral Commission (EC) release the serial numbers of the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) equipment currently in use for the limited voter registration exercise to facilitate the accountability of election outcomes.
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 stressed that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has the right to express their concerns about the current 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.