Policy think tank IMANI Center for Policy and Education has formally petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana over what it describes as constitutional, statutory, and administrative breaches regarding the controversial disposal of electoral equipment.
The petition stems from what IMANI refers to as the “firesale” of biometric voter management system (BVMS) components, including laptops, digital cameras, fingerprint verifiers, printers, and scanners, to a private recycling firm under questionable circumstances.
According to IMANI’s Executive Director Franklin Cudjoe, the EC’s conduct amounts to misappropriation, wastage, and misuse of public resources. “At a time when the nation is struggling to service its debts under a tight IMF-supervised fiscal regime, such egregious conduct cannot be tolerated,” Cudjoe stated.
The think tank alleges that the EC prematurely retired tens of thousands of devices—many of which were procured as recently as 2018 and 2019—under the false claim that all were obsolete and dated back to 2011. IMANI maintains that the EC’s actions were part of an effort to eliminate physical and inventory evidence that contradicts its justification for procuring new electoral equipment at enormous public expense in 2020.
IMANI argues that instead of discarding or offloading the equipment to mysterious buyers at scrap value, the devices—some worth over $3,000 apiece—should have been reassigned to other government agencies or sold transparently through a public tender, in accordance with the Public Procurement Act.
Furthermore, the petition expresses grave concerns about the sensitive voter data stored in the disposed devices. IMANI believes the EC failed to ensure proper data sanitization before the disposal and questions whether the recycling company had the requisite certifications to handle such sensitive information.
“The abuse of public resources and power for private gain is the universally acknowledged definition of corruption,” the petition reads, further alleging that the EC’s disposal process was motivated by a collective conflict of interest and a desire to curtail transparency.
IMANI is also considering referring the matter to the Office of the Special Prosecutor for a specialized corruption risk assessment, given the potential implications for national security and electoral integrity.
This latest move by IMANI follows its longstanding opposition to the EC’s 2020 procurement of new BVMS components, a process it criticized for bid-rigging, inflated costs, and lack of transparency, particularly regarding the acquisition of Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) software.
The disposal scandal resurfaced in 2024 when IMANI discovered large quantities of EC equipment at a recycling facility in Accra owned by Electro Recycling Ghana. The revelation sparked public outrage and led to intensified scrutiny of the EC’s inventory and procurement practices.
Despite public criticism and IMANI’s exposés, the EC has issued multiple rebuttals defending its actions. However, IMANI insists that these responses have only deepened concerns about misconduct and the deliberate evasion of accountability.
The public now awaits CHRAJ’s response to the petition, as pressure mounts on state institutions to ensure greater transparency in the management of public resources, particularly in the electoral space.
Should further developments arise, IMANI has promised to update the public accordingly.