Independent Presidential candidate for the 2020 general elections, Joseph Osei Yeboah (JOY 2020), has commended the Electoral Commission (EC), for initiating steps to compile a new Voters’ Register ahead of the 2020 elections, describing the decision as an excellent move.
“I think the compilation of a new voter register will go a long way to ensure a free and fair election which we always preach. I believe there are ghost names in the register hence the need for a new one. I don’t know why people are contesting this excellent move by the EC,” he said.
Speaking to Ekourba Gyasi on Atinka AM Drive Tuesday Joseph Osei Yeboah, called on all persons against the compilation of the new register to reconsider their decision.
The main opposition party, NDC and some Civil Society Groups have kicked against a new register, insisting that it is a waste of time and a drain on the economy.
On the contrary, the EC says the country will save over GH¢170 million if it opts for a new register and that upgrading or refurbishing the old biometric register will cost more.
Commenting on the matter, JOY 2020 commended the EC for saving the nation so much money adding that the funds can be used to complete all the E-blocks started by the erstwhile Mahama administration.
Commenting on the compilation of a new voter register by the Electoral Commission, Kofi Akpalo who is the spokesperson for the political parties that support the compilation of a New Register, said he will win the 2020 election with a new register.
“I will win the 2020 elections and I want to win the elections genuinely. I don’t trust the current register and I believe a new one will give us free and fair elections,” he said.
During a meeting with Editors and senior journalists recently, the EC said the country will save as much as GHC170 million with the acquisition of the new Biometric Voter Management System (BVMS).
It explained that the total cost of maintaining the old Biometric System is $74, 364, 500 while the total cost for new BVMS system is estimated at $56,000,000. These include Biometric Voter Registration Kits (BVR) kits and the Biometric Verification Devices (BVD).
Giving further breakdown of the cost of the entire process, it said the total cost of using the old BVR system for the 2020 election is $38, 692,500.00. This include; cost of refurbishment of some BVR kits used in 2016 and the acquisition of new ones. The number of kits used in the 2016 registration was 5,500 and number of kits that were refurbish able was 1,500 and the unit cost of refurbishment was $3500, pegging the total cost of refurbishment at $5,250,000. The EC further posits that the nation also needs an additional 6500 kits at a unit cost of $5145, pegging total cost of additional kits at 33,442,500.
However, for the new system, the number of BVR kits required for the 2020 election is 8,000 at unit cost of $3,000.00, pegging the total cost for the new BVR @$24, 000000.
Similarly, the EC intends to acquire some 80,000.00 BVD kits at a unit cost of $400.00 making a total of $32M compared to the $ 35,672,000.00 if it takes the path of refurbishing and purchasing additional BVDs from the previous vendor.
Furthermore, the EC opted against the proposal of the previous vendors to upgrade and refurbish their current datacenters and its equipment for a combined build and 1 year maintenance cost of $ 19M for a completely new datacenters equipment with current systems for a combined build and 3 year maintenance cost of $7M.
