The Electoral Commission has denied allegations that it discreetly disposed of 10 Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) for recycling at a loss to the state. In a statement issued on Friday, April 26, the Commission clarified that the 10 BVDs discovered at a recycling company in Madina, Accra, were outdated devices that had been legally auctioned.

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According to the Commission, these obsolete BVDs were acquired before the 2012 elections and were used in the 2019 District Level Elections (DLE). The statement explained that the previous administration had planned to refurbish the outdated devices for the 2018 referendum and the 2019 DLE, despite being advised by the Commission's Biometric Infrastructure managers that the equipment was obsolete and no longer useful.<img

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alt="" class="wp-image-663383"/>Contrary to the refurbishment plan, the current Commission decided to procure new equipment instead of repairing the obsolete 2012 devices. This decision was made to ensure the prudent use of resources and the integrity of the electoral process, ultimately saving the state millions of cedis.The Commission emphasized that the auction of the

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obsolete devices was conducted transparently, and the proceeds were duly deposited into the Consolidated Fund. It strongly refuted any claims of misconduct and criticized civil society group IMANI Africa for allegedly misinforming the public about the issue.

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Bright Simons, the Vice President of IMANI Africa, has raised concerns about the Electoral Commission's disposal of Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs), claiming that the devices were sold for recycling at a loss to the state. Mr Simons in a series of posts on X platform criticized the EC's assertion that the devices were obsolete, arguing that they were only used during elections and therefore could not be considered scrap.

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In a series of tweets, Simons shared documents from Parliament, the Auditor-General, and the Ministry of Finance, which he claims expose the EC's actions. He pointed out that millions of dollars were spent on the devices, which are now being sold for scrap at significantly lower prices. He also highlighted that thousands of devices purchased in 2016 and 2018 could not have been obsolete as they are only used during elections.

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