The Electoral Commission (EC) has issued a statement urging the public to disregard any claims suggesting that it spent $150 million on acquiring Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) and Biometric Voter Registration Kits (BVRs) in 2020.
The EC’s response follows allegations made by Bright Simons, Vice President of IMANI Africa, in several articles, alleging that the election management body spent $150 million on BVDs.
In the statement released on Friday, April 26, the EC clarified that prior to the circulation of the $150 million figure, the cost of the BVDs and BVRs procured by the commission in 2020 was quoted at $300 million.
“In fact, the total cost for 74,500 BVDs, 8,500 BVRs, a new data centre and a data recovery centre amounted to $68, 661,912.67.”
However, the EC clarified that the total cost for 74,500 BVDs, 8,500 BVRs, a new data center, and a data recovery center amounted to $68,661,912.67.
Furthermore, the EC explained that in June 2018, the previous administration of the commission budgeted and received approval to invest $56 million for the refurbishment of BVDs and BVRs, a Data Center, and security enhancements under the voter registration and voter verification projects.
The contract was aimed at the 2018 referendum and District Level Elections (DLE), including refurbishing 1,670 BVR kits and procuring 1,000 new BVDs for the Voter Registration project, and refurbishing 46,200 BVDs and acquiring 10,000 new BVDs for the Voter Verification Project.
However, the current administration of the Commission decided to cancel the contract for total refurbishment and procurement of new BVDs, opting for a minimal maintenance arrangement.
“The contract was specifically geared towards the conduct of the 2018 referendum and District Level Elections (DLE). The Voter Registration project included the refurbishment of 1,670 BVR kits and the procurement of 1,000 new BVDs while the Voter Verification Project included the refurbishment of 46,200 BVDs as well as the acquisition of 10,000 new BVDs.”
“However, the current administration of the Commission made a strategic decision to cancel the contract for the total refurbishment and the procurement of new BVDs, opting for a minimal maintenance arrangement,” it further stated.
In 2020, based on the experience with the equipment in the 2019 DLE, the current Commission applied for and received approval from the PPA to acquire new BVDs, BVRs, a Data Center, and a Data Recovery Center.