On Tuesday, March 19, 2024, the Minority Caucus voiced concerns about the alleged theft of BVD machines, urging the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to conduct a swift investigation.
They expressed apprehension that the missing biometric devices could adversely affect the forthcoming December 7, 2024, general elections.
In response, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority Leader, stated, "The Electoral Commission confirms that seven biometric devices are indeed missing. I urge the CID and the Ghana Police Service to immediately issue a statement giving us details of their investigations so far."
However, during a press conference on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, the EC clarified that none of its biometric verification devices were missing.
Samuel Tettey, the Commissioner in charge of Operations at the EC, addressed the press, stating that only five of the EC's laptops were missing.
He assured that all biometric verification devices are securely stored and protected, emphasizing that the stolen laptops contain no sensitive information and will not compromise the integrity of the 2024 elections.
For all, all the biometric verification devices are well secured and protected.
He explained that the missing laptops do not have any sensitive information on them, stressing that the stolen laptops will not impact the integrity of the 2024 elections.
"To set the records straight, the commission recently undertook routine servicing of its biometric voter registration kits. It was during this maintenance that we discovered the theft of five laptops from the biometric voter registration kits not seven BVD as erroneously stated," Tettey noted.
He added: "For clarification, biometric voter registration kits which comprise a laptop, camera, scanner, and printer are entirely separated from the Commission’s registration data systems and are incapable of manipulating elections outcomes as suggested. These kits though crucial for voter registration, requires specific activation to function accordingly".