Let cool heads prevail — Citizen Ghana
A leading member of Citizen Ghana Movement, Mr Ato Bonful, has called for calmer heads at today’s meeting between the Electoral Commission’s (EC) Eminent Advisory Committee and other stakeholders on the acquisition of a new Biometric Voter Management System (BVMS).
He said threats of violence and war were not necessary since Ghana deserved better, stressing that “It does not help us to do this to ourselves and forge together as a people with a common destiny and aspirations.”
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In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday ahead of today’s meeting, Mr Bonful appealed to all the stakeholders including the political parties and civil society organisations to measure their utterances especially on media platforms and engagements with their followers.
Open mind
He said what was crucial at this stage was for stakeholders to enter into the meeting with open minds and suggestions that would improve the electoral management system.
Mr Bonful cited for instance that the stakeholders could push for an independent third party to do periodic audits of the system to enable all the parties to have faith in the process.
He recalled that in 2016 just as there were calls for a new voters register while others wanted to keep the old register, the EC took an independent decision to keep the old register and did a partial registration.
Hypocrisy
He recalled that on June 22, 2018, the then chairperson of the EC was given the permission to sole source to procure materials and equipment for voter registration, voter verification and data centre upgrade projects for the 2018 electoral exercises.
That, he said, was estimated at $56,357,721.16 to cover Voter Registration project, Data Centre and Biometric System Upgrade, Security and Audit Enhancement, ICT Capacity Build-up and Voter Verification project
“As far back as 2018, precisely June 28, a notification of award of contract for the procurement of verification project for the exhibition exercise and referendum was published. All these were signed by the EC and we did not hear any whimper from those making the argument today on any acquisition which would go to a new vendor,” he stated.
Mr Bonful said the case was made way back on changing the entire system because it was problematic and could malfunction during a major election.
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At the time, he said, the discussions were rather on Ghana selling her sovereignty if it allowed the US military use of a hanger at the airport.
He wondered whether the reasons being listed against the EC procuring a new BVMS did not exist then.
Background
The Eminent Advisory Committee of the Electoral Commission (EC) and the commission are expected to meet with members of the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) today to deliberate on issues concerning the plan to compile a new voters register which has generated a national debate.
A statement signed and issued in Accra on Wednesday by the Chairman of the committee, Mr Justice Francis Emile Short, said the decision to meet with the IPAC followed a meeting with the EC on Wednesday.
The EC’s decision to compile a new voters’ register for the 2020 polls has been questioned by some political parties, think tanks; the EC has been asked to rescind its intention of compiling a new register.
At a press conference on December 31, 2019, the EC justified its decision to obtain a new biometric voting system and compile a new electoral roll for elections in December 2020.
It explained that the move to procure the biometric system was informed by advice from its IT personnel and external IT consultants.
According to the EC, assessment of the system by the two teams had revealed that it would be prudent to acquire a new system rather than refurbish the current one.
The commission said it would make more economic and operational sense to acquire the new system than to keep the current system and refurbish them at a high cost of frequent replacement of failing parts and renewal of warranties.