POLITICS

2016 Polls : EC must tell us what caused system hacking – Mahama demands

Former President John Dramani Mahama has challenged the Electoral Commission (EC) to make public, details of its investigations into the hacking of its system used in collating election results electronically during the 2016 polls.

He disclosed that Ghanaians and relevant stakeholders demand to know before the country goes into another election in 2020 in the interest of transparency

Speaking at the Saïd Business School in collaboration with the African Studies Centre and the Oxford Africa Business Alliance under the theme “Democracy and Elections in Contemporary Africa he said “During the last Presidential Election in Ghana, the Electoral Commission directed its staff to stop using the electronic result transmission system to communicate results to the tallying centre because the system had been compromised. The results had to, therefore, be tallied manually, leading to attendant tensions in the delay of the announcement of the final results.

As I speak, I am not aware that the Electoral Commission has carried out any investigation into what compromised their IT system. And even if they have, we the stakeholders, the political parties, have not been briefed on what caused the corruption of the system. In the interest of transparency, it is important for Ghanaians to understand what happened before we go into another election”

He lauded the African continent for improving on its electoral reforms graduating from steel ballot boxes to transparent ones

Africa has come a long way from the era of steel ballot boxes and district counting centres. In past electoral systems, the citizen’s duty was to turn out to vote, the rest of the process from counting to declaration of results were done out of sight of the electorate.

Electoral systems have improved since then, with innovations such as vote counting in-situ, biometric registers, verification machines, and allowance for observation of elections by party agents, civil society and international observers. This has improved the integrity of elections and lessened disputes”, he observed.

Nonetheless he observed that there are a few challenges which need to be addressed to deal with the dear and panic hacking of electronic transmission system comes with.

“The use of IT in results transmission and the possibility of hacking have created new fears about the manipulation of results. Examples of this can be found in the recent elections in Ghana, Kenya and Sierra Leone” he revealed.

 

Source: mynewsgh.com

Ogyem Solomon

Solomon Ogyem – Media Entrepreneur | Journalist | Brand Ambassador Solomon Ogyem is a dynamic Ghanaian journalist and media entrepreneur currently based in South Africa. With a solid foundation in journalism, Solomon is a graduate of the OTEC School of Journalism and Communication Studies in Ghana and Oxbridge Academy in South Africa. He began his career as a reporter at OTEC 102.9 MHz in Kumasi, where he honed his skills in news reporting, community storytelling, and radio broadcasting. His passion for storytelling and dedication to the media industry led him to establish Press MltiMedia Company in South Africa—a growing platform committed to authentic African narratives and multimedia journalism. Solomon is the founder and owner of Thepressradio.com, a news portal focused on delivering credible, timely, and engaging stories across Ghana and Africa. He also owns Press Global Tickets, a service-driven venture in the travel and logistics space, providing reliable ticketing services. In addition to his media ventures, Solomon serves as a Brand Ambassador for Alabuga, a prominent Russian industrial company, representing their interests and expansion across Africa. He previously owned two notable websites—Ghanaweb.mobi and ShowbizAfrica.net—both of which contributed to entertainment and socio-political discussions within Ghana’s digital space. With a diverse background in media, digital journalism, and business, Solomon Ogyem is dedicated to telling impactful African stories, empowering youth through media, and building cross-continental media partnerships.

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