Opposition NDC is accusing the Electoral Commission of contracting an indigenous IT company to manage the country’s electoral data system, on the blind side of political parties.

The contract of an Israeli company, Superlock Technologies Limited (STL), has been terminated by EC.

But even before an official announcement will be made on who takes over from them, the party is alleging that an indigenous Ghanaian company had been hired as the new vendor.

This development the NDC says, will compromise the integrity of the 2020 elections.

General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, told Evans Mensah on PM Express on JOYNEWS Channel that access to the data was a key factor as a transparency measure.

According to him, before procuring the biometric registration, all stakeholders decided that such important data should not be left in the hands of any single person.

“We have developed protocols at the Commission where the vendor [STL] or EC alone cannot enter the data until certain protocols are adhered to. Before any entry or deletion in the data, there must be documentation which the vendor can show to everybody,” he explained.

Asiedu Nketia, General Secretary of the NDC

He said there had been a discussion where STL asked whether the EC would want to have the overall control of the keys but “both Afari Gyan and Charlotte Osei [former EC Chairpersons] all resisted taking it.”

“Can you imagine what would have happened when in 2012, the opposition New Patriot Party (NPP) alleged that the EC has added 300,000 names to the register if the situation then allowed the EC then to add names?”

Mr Nketia doubts the local IT firm has robust security systems to handle such important data.

“Why is it that banks that are handling ATMs are routing and channelling some of their communication and data through South Africa, India and Russia? It tells you that it will be too great a risk to take. The confidence of the people in the system must be established before you do your work as EC,” he observed.

The NDC General Secretary says the EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa, hiring a local IT company whose owners have political affiliations with the right to vote on the blind side of stakeholders, is worrying.

Meanwhile, the EC has declined to comment on the allegations except to say they are focusing on the upcoming limited registration exercise. 

The Commission said they are still using STL for the exercise.