EC spends GH¢151m on biometric devices

The Electoral Commission (EC) spent GH¢151m on the procurement of brand new biometric verification devices, which had an initial budget of GH¢161m, chairperson Jean Mensa has told Parliament.

Mrs. Mensa said the commission thus realised savings of GH¢10m on the procurement.

Apprising MPs on Saturday on the commission’s preparations ahead of the December polls, the chairperson said the enhanced features of the devices—which number 74,800 in all—will speed up the voter verification process and go a long way to ensure that only persons whose biometric details are captured vote on Election Day.

She explained that the devices have records of both fingerprints and facial features of each unique individual. As a result, in the event where an individual has lost the use of his or her fingers, the facial recognition feature will be employed to identify the voter.

“We are confident that the use of both features will go a long way to enhance the integrity of the polls,” she said.

Mrs. Mensa also informed lawmakers that special officials, named the COVID-19 Ambassadors, will be deployed on Election Day to all 38,622 polling stations throughout the country to enforce the Covid-19 protocols.

She said the commission had completed the printing of presidential ballot papers for all regions except the Eastern Region.

For parliamentary ballots papers, she said only three regions—Oti, Volta and Upper East—were ready.