The Electoral Commission has addressed the request made by the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for serial numbers of the Biometric Voter Registration(BVR) Kits currently deployed in the field for the Limited Voters Registration exercise.
According to the Commission, the integrity and security of the electoral process are of great importance, thus, there is no action they will take that will put the integrity of the commission in disrepute.
The commission, in a response to the demands of the NDC stated that, “The commission wishes to highlight that the integrity and security of our electoral process are paramount. Each BVR kit, as a critical component of this process, is assigned a unique serial number. This number plays a crucial role in the operation of these devices, particularly in the generation of activation codes essential for their functionality as well as tracking their location and movement."
In a press release dated 9th May which was signed by the acting Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Michael Boadu, the request to release the serial numbers to any external party, including political entities, has the tendency of posing a substantial risk to the security and integrity of the registration processes.
"That is why this has never been done since biometric voting system was introduced in Ghana," it stated.
The Electoral Commission further stated that, the serial numbers when released could be used to facilitate fraudulent activities, including phishing attacks, where a criminal who has the serial number can trick EC personnel into believing they are registered officials, potentially leading to unauthorised disclosures and access to sensitive information.
“The Electoral Commission maintains a structured protocol for the activation and operation of BVR Kits, designed to ensure that all devices are used solely for their intended purpose and by authorized personnel only. Disclosing serial numbers disrupts this protocol and endangers the operational integrity of our electoral system,” the commission stated.
See attached the full statement
