EC interdicts suspected officers involved in BVD theft

On April 15, 2024, 5:57 AM

The Electoral Commission (EC) has revealed that it has interdicted officials allegedly responsible for the disappearance of five Biometric Verification Devices (BVD).

According to the Director of Electoral Services at the EC, Dr Serebour Quaicoe, they have also handed the officers over to the police for further investigations.

He added that the police began investigations as soon as the case was reported to them about a month ago.

“So they have been interdicted, and they are now going through the security investigation. That is why we said that we have lost these [BVDs], and these are the suspects.

“So investigate and let them go through the legal regime. Whatever has to be done should be done. I am told that they will be arraigned before court soon. If they are found guilty, the law should deal with them,” he said.

However, Dr Quaicoe insisted that the devices had not been activated, so there was no need to panic.

In March 2024, the Minority in Parliament raised concerns about the stolen BVD machines, with Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson calling on the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Ghana Police Service to investigate the matter promptly.

According to the Minority, the missing biometric devices were meant for the registration and verification of voters by the Electoral Commission ahead of its limited voter registration exercise.

Responding to these claims, the Deputy Chairman of the EC in charge of Operations, Samuel Tettey, clarified that all biometric devices were securely stored, affirming the Commission’s readiness for the December polls.

He, however, emphasized that five laptops had been stolen from their custody.