The Electoral Commission (EC) has provided clarification regarding the discovery of Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) at a recycling company in Madina, stating that the devices were obsolete and had been legally auctioned.

In a statement, the EC revealed that the outdated BVDs were acquired prior to the 2012 elections and were utilized during the 2019 District Level Elections (DLE).

The Commission explained that despite being advised by the Managers of the Commission’s Biometric Infrastructure that the equipment had reached their End of Life and were obsolete, the previous administration had planned to refurbish them for the 2018 Referendum and the 2019 DLE.

However, the current Commission decided to cancel this refurbishment plan and opted for the procurement of new equipment to ensure the integrity of electoral processes.

"To maintain transparency and uphold the prudent use of resources, the Commission replaced the obsolete 2012 equipment with new equipment and infrastructure," the EC said.

Addressing allegations of improper disposal of the devices, the Commission emphasized that the auction was conducted transparently, with proceeds duly deposited in the Consolidated Fund.

Meanwhile, Bright Simons of IMANI-Africa has described as shameful the EC’s statement noting that the Commission is peddling lies to cover up for its wasteful use of state resources.

In an X post sighted by GhanaWeb, Bright Simmons stated that details of parliamentary documents show that the commission is peddling lies.

“The EC says they've sold their devices for scrap cos they're from 2011 & ‘obsolete’. Same lie they've been peddling since 2020. Here are documents from Parliament, Auditor-General, Min of Finance, exposing the LIE. Stuff bought for $m sold for scrap. See why Ghana is bankrupt?” he posed.

“Study the documents carefully. A. You will see that millions of $ were spent on these gadgets. They are now being sold for scrap at few 1000s of GHS. B. 1000s of gadgets were bought in 2016 & 2018 & could not have been obsolete as they are used only during elections. #SHAME,” he added.

Read the EC's full statement below:

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GA/SARA

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