Call EC to order for violating voter privacy

General news for Monday, November 23, 2020

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

2020-11-23

Policy thinkers Strategic Thinkers Network (STRANEK) has asked the Data Protection Agency to bring the Electoral Commission to order following the release of private data from Ghana’s electorates.

According to STRANEK, the EC’s decision to publish personal information of voters before the polls violates sections 17 and 18 of the Data Protection Law of 2012 (Law 843).

In a statement issued by STRANEK on November 23, they wondered why the EC mishandled the personal data of voters at such a crucial moment in the country’s history.

“Couldn’t the Election Commission have created a link to a database that allows Ghanaians to verify the identity number of their voters instead of downloading all voter data on Google Drive?” the statement read in part.

The statement that was signed by CEO Nii Tettey Tetteh further accused the EC led by Jean Mensa of downplaying its role in protecting the details of Ghanaian voters.

“The lack of supervision has exposed the Electoral Commission as far as data protection is concerned. Elections in the 4th Republic of Ghana have been held since 1992 and there should be little room for incompetence… ”the statement further noted.

Please read a copy of the full statement below;

BRING EC TO ORDER-STRANEK-Africa asks the Data Protection Commission

Various stakeholders in Ghana have asked the Election Commission to release the list of registered voters for the December 7, 2020 elections, including the thirty-two thousand six hundred twenty-one (32,621) names removed from the new voter roll for alleged infringement. electoral laws.

A few days ago, the Electoral Commission uploaded the voter data to Google Drive, that is, the full name, age and identity number. Couldn’t the Election Commission have created a link to a database that allows Ghanaians to verify the identity number of their voters instead of downloading all voter data on Google Drive?

In the era of scammers and rogues, one might have thought that Ghanaian data would have been held in high regard and the CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability) triangle in regards to Cybersecurity Management would have been religiously applied.

Unfortunately, the most important component of cybersecurity does not seem to exist in the Electoral Commission office. Doesn’t this violate confidentiality, since Ghanaians are naked and openly show their data?

Articles 17 and 18 of the Data Protection Law of 2012 (Law 843) refer to the privacy of the individual and the processing of personal data, respectively. Section 17 explains the principles to be followed, i.e. data security safeguards, legality of processing, etc.

Section 18 (1) explains how the processing of personal data should be processed without infringing the privacy rights of the data subject and how it should be done in a reasonable and legal manner. Could it be said that the Election Commission has violated Ghana’s privacy laws?

The lack of supervision has exposed the Electoral Commission as far as data protection is concerned. Elections in the Fourth Republic of Ghana have been held since 1992 and there should be little room for incompetence.

Therefore, STRANEK-Africa calls on the Data Protection Commission to put the EC in order for serious privacy violations.

We are all involved in building our nation.

Signed.

Nii Tettey Tetteh

Executive Director