Missing BVDs: EC, NPP leadership have taken machines to neighbouring countries to register foreigners — Mustapha Gbande 

The Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mustapha Gbande, has levelled allegations regarding the disappearance of the Electoral Commission’s (EC) Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs), suggesting that they have been illicitly taken to neighbouring countries to register non-Ghanaians.

Gbande made these claims during an interview on Onua FM, on April 10, 2024 alleging that both the Electoral Commission (EC) and the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) were behind the missing BVDs.

He said, “The EC and the leadership of the NPP have taken the missing BVD machines to neighbouring countries to register people ahead of the 2024 elections who might not necessarily be Ghanaians.

“They have taken some machines to Togo, Burkina Faso among others to register persons who will come and vote in Ghana posing as Ghanaians in the 2024 elections.”

Disputing the description of the missing items as mere laptops by the EC, Gbande emphasised the essence of BVD machines in the electoral process, condemning any attempts to downplay their importance.

“Anyone who describes the said machines as mere laptops is lying, they are not ordinary machines, they are for a purpose. They are not just laptops, they are BVD machines, they are very important components of the elections which have been taken,” Gbande remarked.

Gbande's assertions is in reaction to reassurances from the Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission in Charge of Corporate Services, Dr. Bossman Asare, who sought to allay fears about the impact of the stolen laptops on the integrity of the upcoming elections.

Dr. Asare clarified that the stolen laptops do not contain sensitive information and even require activation before use.

However, Gbande raised doubts about this explanation, saying “What if the person who helped steal the machines is from the EC’s office?”