"IMANI Petitions CHRAJ to Probe EC Boss"

JEAN MENSAH

This morning, I instructed that IMANI file a petition with the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), requesting an investigation into the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana for breaches of constitutional, statutory, and administrative duties related to the controversial disposal of electoral equipment for scrap.

My colleagues and I at IMANI are deeply troubled by the EC’s mismanagement of the nation’s scarce resources, particularly in light of Ghana’s ongoing debt crisis and the constraints of an IMF-supervised fiscal programme. We believe the Commission’s actions amount to misappropriation, wastage, and misuse of public assets.

Our petition highlights serious concerns about the premature retirement and disposal of tens of thousands of laptops, cameras, printers, scanners, and biometric devices. We suspect these decisions were driven by conflicting interests—prioritizing private commercial benefits over legal obligations to act in the public’s interest.

We also expressed concern that the EC’s actions may have been designed to undermine transparency and accountability, erasing records and physical evidence tied to false claims it has made over the years about the procurement history of these devices. Contrary to the EC’s narrative, these assets were acquired and refurbished in phases from 2011 to 2019, and cannot all be deemed obsolete or worthless.

Some of the equipment, worth over $3,000 apiece and collectively amounting to tens of millions of dollars, could have been repurposed by other government agencies or sold through a transparent, competitive process in line with the Public Procurement Act. Instead, their disposal raises serious questions of propriety and potential corruption.

Even more worrying, these devices contained sensitive voter data, including biometric and polling records, and should have been handled with the highest standards of data protection. We have no evidence that the EC or its partners possessed the necessary certifications or followed due protocols during the transfer or disposal process.

I have also called for the matter to be referred to the Office of the Special Prosecutor for a corruption risk assessment, which falls within its unique investigative remit.

IMANI will continue to inform the public of any new developments or actions taken. We trust that the institutions we are engaging will act decisively in the public interest.

Franklin CudjoeExecutive Director, IMANI Center for Policy & Education

MICHAEL OPPONG-AMPONSAH