The Electoral Commission (EC) has moved to dispel suggestions by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that there is a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence of non-verification of voters during the December 7 elections.
The elections management body told state-owned Daily Graphic that a claim by the NDC that the EC was “illegally” deactivating Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) used in the just-ended polls to hide of electoral malfeasance is untenable.
The clarification by the EC comes on the back of a press statement issued by the NDC cautioning the EC against deactivating any of the BVDs which were used in the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections.
According to the party, deactivating the BVDs was illegal and a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence related to non-verification of voters in the elections.
The NDC in the statement also said that destroying documents before the period of one year is an electoral offence punishable, upon conviction, by two years’ imprisonment or five hundred penalty units or both.
“It has come to the attention of the National Democratic Congress that the Electoral Commission, through Dr. Yaw Ofori Adjei, has directed that all biometric devices used in the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections should be deactivated.
“This directive is illegal because Regulation 47 (3) of CI 127 states that ‘The Commission shall, subject to the provisions of these Regulations, (a) retain for a year, documents forwarded to the Commission; and (b) destroy the documents after a year unless otherwise directed by a court’”, the statement signed by NDC Director of Election, Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah said.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
