Ghana runs its most credible and cost-effective National Elections to date
1.25 Million
More voters than in 2016 election
79%
Voter Turnout
-41%
Lower cost per vote than 2016 election
In 2020, Ghana had a population of 31 million people, of which 17 million were eligible to vote. This voter enrolment project was extremely challenging since it had to be delivered during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in supply chain and logistics obstacles. Laxton played a key role in facilitating the entire process, from planning to results management.
On the 7th of December 2020, Ghana successfully held its National Presidential Elections. A victory for the Electoral Commission and Laxton.
Project
Solution: National Elections
Region: Ghana
Year: 2020
Lessons learnt in 2016
During the 2016 National Elections, over 15 million voters were registered using fingerprint biometrics, which served as the only means of voter verification on election days. However, the decentralised system left the elections vulnerable to voter fraud.
To improve the credibility of the electoral process, the Electoral Commission aimed to adopt the latest biometric technology and a mobile solution for voter registration and casting of ballots in the 2020 elections.
The Electoral Commission would fully fund the voter registration and election process without relying on donor funding, which made it imperative for them to deliver the process within budget.
The project goals are set
The chosen service provider for the Voter Management System must provide a holistic end-to-end solution, including:
Deliver multimodal biometric technology systems to enrol and verify 17 million voters
Co-ordinating logistics for delivering the equipment from the manufacturer to Ghana. This included distributing thousands of Kits to voting stations across the country
Training local technicians to set up and maintain the Kits during and after the project
Training operators to effectively capture voter data using the Kits
Providing support throughout the duration of the project to ensure a smooth voter enrolment and verification process.
Overcoming every challenge
Global COVID-19 restrictions presented a significant challenge for cross-border logistics. It put more pressure on project timelines.
However, despite these obstacles, the initial and most critical phase of the operation was successfully executed between June and September 2020. Laxton leveraged its extensive logistics network to deploy support personnel to Ghana. This team received, inspected and prepared the Biometric Registration Kits (BRKs) and Voter Verification Devices.
The well-being of all stakeholders involved was a top priority throughout the project. Health and safety measures were implemented at every phase to protect the thousands of technical staff, electoral officials, and Ghanaian citizens enrolling to vote.
Technology tailored to meet all requirements
To effectively enrol the 17 million eligible voters dispersed across the country, the solution needed to meet a variety of requirements. The hardware had to be both portable and durable to reach citizens in remote areas with limited infrastructure, and the software had to be secure and user-friendly for operators.
To avoid the long queues and cumbersome process of previous elections, enrolment had to be fast and efficient. After a deduplication process, the voter roll had to be accurate and verified, ensuring credibility in the election outcome.
To tick these boxes, each Biometric Registration Kit comprised of:
Technical support at every phase
To ensure a smooth registration and voting process, Laxton delivered a full inventory of spares, tools, and other materials to mitigate potential technical problems. A team of 40 technicians were based at two support centres in Accra and Kumasi, to mitigate potential technical problems.
As part of the focus on secure and accurate voter registration and voting, all equipment was individually inspected upon arrival. A detailed report, including component serial numbers, was provided to the Electoral Commission.
“We were delighted to report that all milestones were successfully met, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted industries and supply chains worldwide,” said Booysen. “Our hands-on approach and the agility of our processes meant we could get the job done and exceed the Electoral Commission’s expectations.”
Creative solutions for every problem
A crucial component of Laxton’s service is the training of electoral officials responsible for voter enrolment and verification. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, traditional face-to-face training was not possible, requiring the team to find alternative solutions.
Detailed training videos were created, guiding operators through all the aspects of setting up and operating the hardware. The videos were shared on WhatsApp support groups, where trainees’ questions were answered.
Intensive in-person training was conducted with 40 technicians recruited by the Electoral Commission. The training ensured that this team was completely proficient with the hardware. It was followed by a skills assessment, on which the team scored an impressive average of 96%.
Enrolling ALL eligible voters
Voter enrolment took place from June to August. Thousands of registration stations were set up in urban and remote areas to ensure every citizen had the opportunity to register in four simple steps:
Presenting valid identification
- Completing a registration form
- Capturing fingerprint and facial images
- Receiving a laminated receipt to present on voting day to verify their enrolment
According to statistics, there was no increase in COVID-19 cases during the enrolment and voting process!
Number of verified votes per region
Successful elections held during a pandemic
Voter enrolment took place from June to August. Thousands of registration stations were set up in urban and remote areas to ensure every citizen had the opportunity to register in four simple steps:
Presenting valid identification
- Completing a registration form
- Capturing fingerprint and facial images
- Receiving a laminated receipt to present on voting day to verify their enrolment
According to statistics, there was no increase in COVID-19 cases during the enrolment and voting process!
2020 general elections voters register
The Electoral Commission reaches its goals
After a conference led by the Electoral Commission and attended by several stakeholders, the Chair of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Jean Adukwei Mensa, stated: “We need to celebrate the fact that despite the COVID-19 pandemic and its uncertainties, we can prepare a brand new Voters Register with over 17 million persons in 38 days.”
In an official communique released by the Inter-Party Advisory Committee, the Chair highlighted the key achievements of the 2020 Elections:
Ghana was able to conduct Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in six months in a COVID environment. A seamless process markedly shortened queues on Election Day
The deployment of technology to guarantee unique individuals were registered to vote, thereby enhancing the credibility of the Register and the Electoral process
Reducing the cost of the Elections at a time when the cost of elections across the world was rising
Attaining 79% election participation; the highest to date
All political parties represented at the meeting unanimously agreed that “the 2020 Presidential Elections were efficiently and successfully organised; that the elections were transparent, credible, fair and met international standards”.
Laxton achieved what it set out to deliver: an end-to-end national election solution and results that the citizens of Ghana could believe in.
