Electoral Commission (EC) has defended its decision to publish the country’s voter roll ahead of the elections.
The EC insists making copies of the voter register is backed by law.
“Our systems are very secure and for the register that was put out, we are enjoined by law to publish the voters’ register, ” EC Chairperson, Mrs Jean Mensa said at a training workshop for journalists on Tuesday, November 24, 2020.
The EC boss, who was quoted by the CNR explained: “C.I. 127 requires that the provisional voter register is published on our website. That same law states that the final register is published in a manner for which the Commission deems fit.”
Mrs Mensa also said the publishing of the register was to ensure “transparency and openness.”
The commission faced criticisms after it published lists of voters on its website via Google Drive amid concerns over privacy and data security.
The list published contained the names, voter identification numbers, ages and genders of persons registered to vote.
The list of voters was eventually pulled down but only temporarily, according to Mrs Mensa.
She said it will be re-published after the system has been embedded with enhanced security measures.
“[Our] IT [team] was called to include and introduce more systems to it to make it more functional. We intend to upload it in the next few days,” she was quoted by the CNR as saying.
