Why Missing BVDs Can’t Compromise Upcoming Elections
The Electoral Commission (EC) has reassured Ghanaians of the integrity of the outcome of the upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary Elections after a Biometric Verification Device was found in the possession of a man at Nsawam in the Eastern Region.
The Commission suspects that the BVD could be one of the five devices that were vandalized at the Tarkwa Nsuaem District or two BVDs stolen at the North Tongu District during the December 2023 District Level Elections (DLEs).
Despite the unknown location of these devices plus five laptops of the Commission stolen from their head office in April, the electoral body has allayed all fears.
“It does not affect the integrity of an election. 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.”
Why
According to the EC, all devices used in elections are taken through rigorous processes prior- which process it asserted is not vulnerable to manipulation.
BVDs that would be used in the December polls are yet to be taken through this process, it said.
Other Reasons given by the EC include:
1. The voter verification application is designed such that it only works 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.
2. 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
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. BVDs are used ONLY to verify voters. They are not used to vote.
6. 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.
7. 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.
