7th Call - Dr. Emmanuel Debrah

Project Title: Information Technology (IT) and Elections in Ghana: The Case of the 2012 Elections

Principal Investigator: Dr. Emmanuel Debrah (Department of Political Science, University of Ghana)

Email Address: ekdebrah@ug.edu.gh

Award Amount: GHC5, 000.00

Project Status: Final Report Submitted

Summary:

Over the past two decades a lot of attention has been paid to the introduction of information technologies (IT) in the governance processes in Africa. The confidence in the use of IT flows from the belief that they could be used to achieve a more efficient and effective service delivery. Therefore, upon donors’ instigation, African governments have embraced e-commerce, e-banking, and e-government, among others. In many African countries that carried political reforms, the use of biometric system in the electoral process including electronic voting has become a salient feature of their electoral politics. For instance, Nigeria’s 2009 elections incorporated the use of biometric registration. In South Africa, the biometric system has formed an essential part of the electoral process. Fascinated by the growing influence of ITs on developing countries’ electoral processes, Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC) integrated the use of biometric registration and verification of voters into the 2012 elections. The stakeholders in Ghana’s election were convinced that the introduction of the biometric registration and verification would check against abuses in the electoral process and enhance the credibility of the elections and their outcome. Did the use of IT (biometric registration and voter verification) address the inherent problems in the electoral process? Did the introduction of biometric registration and voter verification enhance the credibility of the elections? It is against this background that the research team proposes to investigate and assess the use of IT as a means to foster the credibility of the 2012 elections. A number of stakeholders including political parties, the EC, voters and IT experts have been identified for face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions to determine the extent to which the use of biometric registration and voter verification affected the conduct and outcome of the 2012 elections. The study provides primary (empirical) data to explain the technological deficiencies that led to the public outcry over the conduct of the elections. It will further establish by empirical means, complex forces besides technology that influenced the elections outcome. It is anticipated that the study will give comprehensive insights into the nuances that surrounded the conduct of the 2012 elections. The paper to be developed from the study will be published in the Journal of Electronic Government, an international peer review journal of high quality. It will be a valuable resource to academics/researchers particularly those in the information system and political science. Political parties, policy makers and the Electoral Commission will find the publication a useful source for electoral reforms in Ghana. It would also provide some training and experience to the graduate students.

Findings

 Specifically, the study found that the biometric system:

1. Enhanced stakeholders’ confidence in the election. Past allegations of election malpractices had led to actors’ mistrust of the electoral process and its capacity to produce peaceful and fair elections. The high level of mistrust was diffused when the Electoral Commission resolved to incorporate the use of biometric registration and voter verification onto the electoral process. 
2. Served as a fraud-proof measure against election malpractices that had plagued past elections. By using the biometric and voter verification in the election, there was a considerable reduction in cases of multiple voting. The application of voter verification checked against incidence of multiple voting and impersonation
3. Stimulated high voter registration and turnouts. This was directly linked to the high voter confidence they had in the application of the device. Many prospective voters who went to register and voted because they were convinced that their vote would be counted   
4. Helped to deepen Ghana’s democracy. By encouraging high voter participation in the elections, it can be concluded that he biometric gave the incentive for voters to cast their ballots in order to sustain the democratic process which began in 1992.
5. At the same time, there were challenges with the use of the biometric, including, the failure of the biometric  system to prevent double/multiple registration at the registration centres
6. The EC failed to implement fairly its operational instruction to postpone voting where the biometric machine failed. While in some polling stations voting was halted and deferred to the next day, in other places, the voters continued voting to dawn of December 8 2012.
7. The proxy voting system allowed the voter (proxy) to bypass/skip the biometric verification
8.  The transfer of power to the private company XTL to operate and control the biometric  data on voters’ registration and voting verification undermined its autonomy, created tension thereby undermining the integrity of the election result
9. The biometric verification system disenfranchised some voters because those who genuinely registered and had their names and particulars in the voters roll but failed the verification test could not vote
10. A superior biometric system that controls human manipulation of the election process and guarantees voters’ ballots may replace the one used for the 2012 elections

Publications from the Grant:

ICT and Elections in Ghana: The Case of the 2012 Elections

Journal of Information Technology and Politics (to be submitted in March 28, 2015)