Afari-Gyan admits EC encountered problems

Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, admits the Commission anticipated problems with biometric machines during registration of voters ahead of the 2012 general elections.

He was emphatic that the challenges encountered with the equipment were as a result of their multi-component nature.

Giving evidence at the Supreme Court on Thursday, May 30, 2013, Dr Afari-Gyan stressed that because of the nature of the equipment, if one component developed a fault, it affected the overall function of the machine.

“Even climatic conditions can affect them. In cases that there were extreme heats the machines could freeze,” he told the court.

Dr Afari-Gyan, however, noted that the challenges were overcome because the registration process was not a one-day process.

He observed that the biometric registration process hinged on only two elements.

“We used biometric technology to directly capture the ten finger prints of the applicants if they are available and to capture the photograph of the person,” he explained.

He underscored the use of biometric registration, saying: “When you use biometric technology you are able to do registration quickly and you are able to be more accurate in the collation of your data”.

Dr Afari-Gyan is being led in evidence by James Quarshie-Idun, counsel for the Electoral Commission, and is expected to be later cross-examined by counsel for the petitioners and first and third respondents.