The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) has assured the public that a Biometric Verification Device (BVD) retrieved from a man arrested in Nsawam on Friday cannot be used by unauthorized persons to manipulate the December elections.
According to the Commission, the retrieved BVD cannot be used to comprise the elections and hence cannot affect its integrity.
The EC gave the assurance in a swift response following the arrest of a man, which sparked some concerns but the EC has assured the integrity of the 2024 elections is not at risk.
A statement signed by Samuel Tettey, Deputy Chairman of Operations of the Commission emphasized that the BVD involved had not undergone the necessary preparation process for the December 2024 elections.
These devices, it said, are specifically prepared, audited, and encrypted for each election cycle, ensuring that only properly authenticated and activated devices can be used.
It explained that without access to their secure system and activation codes, a stolen device is essentially inoperable during an election.
The Commission reminded the public of previous incidents, such as the theft of five laptops from the EC’s stores in April 2024 and the vandalization of BVDs during the December 2023 District Level Elections (DLEs).
In each case, the EC reiterated that these breaches did not threaten the integrity of the election process.
“It is nothing more than an off-the-shelf device and cannot be used to compromise an election without the necessary technical and security protocols,” Mr. Tettey explained.
He indicated that the EC has initiated its internal investigation and will work closely with the police to uncover the circumstances that led to the unauthorized possession of the BVD.
“The Commission stands in readiness to work with the Police in its investigations,” Mr. Tettey confirmed and urged law enforcement agencies to thoroughly investigate the situation.
The EC reminded political parties and the general public that the packing of election materials, including BVDs, is closely observed by party agents, who record the serial numbers of the devices used at polling stations.
These numbers are then recorded in official election documents to ensure further accountability.
The EC also clarified that BVDs are solely used for verifying voters and are not involved in the voting process itself assuring all stakeholders that the integrity of the 2024 elections remains intact.
EC protocols that make it impossible for unauthorized devices to be used
a. The voter verification application is designed to only work with data that is prepared, audited, encrypted, and signed by a secure process. Access to this process is highly restricted. Without access to this Secure Process, Voter Data cannot be generated to work with the BVD. The Data that is loaded onto the BVDs are set to be activated for a particular Election Day. A stolen BVD therefore cannot work in the December 2024 Elections.
b. The BVD, as part of its Start-Up Process, checks for the integrity of the Data that is loaded onto it. If the Voter Data on the BVD has been altered in any way, the StartUp Process is halted and the BVD will not work.
c. Activation of the BVDs involves the use of Activation Codes that can only be downloaded from the EC’s Secure System. This system is restricted to Election Officials with the right Access Credentials. A BVD without its Activation Code cannot be used for the verification of Voters.
d. The Data that is loaded onto the BVD must conform with the details of Voters on the Voters Register for each Polling Station. This data is not static and changes with every Election Cycle. Since the Voters Register for various Polling Stations for the 2024 Elections will be different from previous Elections, any data on a BVD that was activated for a previous Election will not conform with the Voters Register at the particular Polling Station on December 7, 2024.
e. BVDs are used ONLY to verify voters. They are not used to vote.
f. Political Party Agents observe the packing of election materials, including BVDS. They record the Serial Numbers of BVDs that are deployed at each Polling Station.
g. Additionally, the Serial Numbers of the BVDs that are used on Election Day are recorded on the Statement of Poll (Pink Sheet) for each Polling Station. This provides further evidence as to which specific BVDs were used to verify Voters at each Polling Station.