We did nothing wrong by publishing full voters’ register - EC

The Electoral Commission (EC) says it did no wrong in publishing the new electoral roll on its website, in spite of the criticisms.

The EC came under fire after a Google Drive link emerge, giving the public access to a list of Ghanaians eligible to exercise their franchise in the December poll.

The details included voters’ names, ages, polling centres as well as ID numbers.

A section of the public also raised concerns about data protection that may potentially arise because all information was published on the EC's website.

Some IT experts described the move as “very irresponsible” because the details of each voter have been made available for anyone who has ulterior motives, and that, fraudsters could use the details to register a SIM card for illegal activities.

The data could also be used to impersonate individuals for banking transactions and social media activities and other harmful cyber activities.

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However , EC Chairperson Jean Mensa commenting on the issue at a media training for journalists on electoral reporting in Accra on November 24, 2020, said the Commission breached no law because they are mandated by law to publicly put out the details of registered voters.

Jean Mensa said that “C.I. 127 requires that the provisional voters' register is published on our website.”

“That same law states that the final register is published in a manner that the Commission deems fit."

She claims that this move by the EC will also ensure transparency in the electoral process but was quick to add that the list has been temporarily pulled down to allow for an upgrade with more enhanced functionalities before subsequently reloading it “in the coming days.”