A policy think tank, IMANI Africa has said the claims by the Electoral Commission of Ghana that its existing biometric voters’ system is weak hence its insistence to procure a new system are flawed and untrue saying “biometric data can be salvaged and facial recognition technology already exist through visual inspection.”
“The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) wants to rip out a system worth $60 million, of which value at least $40 million has accumulated since just 2016, and spend $150 million (plus contingency) constructing a new one.” – The Founding President of IMANI, Mr. Franklin Cudjo said in a statement sighted by Awake News.
According to Mr. Cudjo, “A careful analysis of best practice in procuring biometric technology for elections in Africa shows that the EC’s proposed spending plans are inflated by about 60%. In short, the EC’s proposed system is brutally expensive compared to other countries in Africa.”
Mr. Cudjo has revealed that “18 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) operating in Ghana, spanning a range of focuses and backgrounds, were recently invited to a “briefing” by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) to persuade them to support the latter’s efforts to compile a fresh biometric register, replace the entirety of the existing biometric voters management system (BVMS) and spend roughly $150 million (accounting for contingency) doing so.” but “The CSOs emphatically rejected the EC’s position based on the evidence available so far.”
The decision by the EC to compile new voters register at the cost of over GHc4430million has been hot by opposition from the public, civil society organization and some political parties.
Read the full statement:
MANI: Why CSOs Oppose the New Biometric Voter System: The Full Story
19th January 2020
Highlights:
The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) wants to rip out a system worth $60 million, of which value at least $40 million has accumulated since just 2016, and spend $150 million (plus contingency) constructing a new one.
A careful analysis of best practice in procuring biometric technology for elections in Africa shows that the EC’s proposed spending plans are inflated by about 60%. In short, the EC’s proposed system is brutally expensive compared to other countries in Africa.
The EC’s claims about the existing system’s weaknesses are flawed and untrue because the biometric data can be salvaged and facial recognition technology already exist through visual inspection.
18 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) operating in Ghana, spanning a range of focuses and backgrounds, were recently invited to a “briefing” by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) to persuade them to support the latter’s efforts to compile a fresh biometric register, replace the entirety of the existing biometric voters management system (BVMS) and spend roughly $150 million (accounting for contingency) doing so.
The CSOs emphatically rejected the EC’s position based on the evidence available so far.
In this brief paper, IMANI, as a member of this broad grouping, shall be laying out the key reasons for the inability of major governance and policy think tanks in this country to support the EC’s latest adventure.
Follow the key arguments @ https://imaniafrica.org/2020/01/19/imani-why-csos-oppose-the-new-biometric-voter-system-the-full-story/
Media houses can republish the downloadable version @ https://imaniafrica.org/2020/01/19/imani-why-csos-oppose-the-new-biometric-voter-system-the-full-story/
Please give us feedback after reading.
Respectfully yours,
Franklin Cudjoe
Founding President & CEO, IMANI
By: Efo Korsi Senyo / awakenewsroom.com
