Pro-opposition pressure group, the Let My Vote Count Alliance, has asked the Electoral Commission to as a matter of urgency cancel its contract with publishing firm, Aerovote for the printing of Pink Sheets for the December 7 polls.

A statement signed by the Convener of Let My Vote Count Alliance, David Asante, said the EC “failed to do full due diligence before the contract was awarded. Thus, the EC rejected the GHS 4,209,825.25 bid of Buck Press, a reputable Ghanaian firm which printed the Declaration Forms (Pink Sheets) for the 2012 elections, and rather awarded the contract at a gargantuan cost of GHS 8,950,603.92 to a company with a record of liquidation and bankruptcy and with barely 11 months of experience in Ghana.”

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The LMVCA has, therefore, questioned “the motivation and rationale of the EC in awarding such a contract to a firm that was not able to show capacity to deliver at the committee level.

“Secondly, the company refused to take the EC for an onsite inspection of where the said printing contract will take place, whether in the country of origin of this firm or its host country.”

“LMVCA, together with Ghanaians and tax payers, demand urgent answers on why the contract was awarded at twice the price quoted by a local company with a proven track record,” the statement from the group added.

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the EC, Charlotte Osei had in an earlier interview with the BBC defended the credibility of the company.

She said the company “has always printed it [pink sheets] for us and has now relocated to Ghana which made their pricing better for us.”

“This time, we did not have to bear the high freight charges that we would have had to bear and also the time for shipping,” she added.

Below is the full statement from the LMVCA:

The Let My Vote Count Alliance (LMVCA) is outraged at the corruption exhibited by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) in awarding an GHS 8.95 million contract for the printing of the Statement of Poll and Declaration of Results Forms (Pink Sheets) and other carbonized election forms to Aerovote, a company in the United Kingdom which was liquidated in 2013, which was later incorporated in Ghana on December 2015.It is baffling that, after undergoing the tender process, presumably to obtain the best value for the hard-earned money of the Ghanaian taxpayers, the EC led by its Chairperson, Madam Charlotte Osei, failed to do full due diligence before the contract was awarded. Thus, the EC rejected the GHS 4,209,825.25 bid of Buck Press, a reputable Ghanaian firm which printed the Declaration Forms (Pink Sheets) for the 2012 elections, and rather awarded the contract at a gargantuan cost of GHS 8,950,603.92 to a company with a record of liquidation and bankruptcy and with barely 11 months of experience in Ghana.LMVCA questions the motivation and rationale of the EC in awarding such a contract to a firm that was not able to show capacity to deliver at the committee level. Secondly, the company refused to take the EC for an onsite inspection of where the said printing contract will take place, whether in the country of origin of this firm or its host country.Furthermore, LMVCA,together with Ghanaians and tax payers, demand urgent answers on why the contract was awarded at twice the price quoted by a local company with a proven track record.The LMVCA therefore demands that the EC abrogate the contract with Aerovote with immediate effect. We further call on the EC to do due diligence and exhibit a good sense of judgment in awarding the contract to save the Ghanaian taxpayer the financial burden of overpriced service from a foreign multinational whose overall integrity and business credibility is in doubt and crisis.With a few weeks to Election Day, it is crucial that the EC portrays itself as capable of conducting free and fair elections. It is therefore unacceptable that the EC would award such a dubious contract to further erode the waning confidence of the electorate in the EC as a credible institution. Ghanaians feel short-changed in this award of contract to the company Aerovote and we demand an immediate cancellation of this dubious contract.LMVCA remains resolute in the commitment to preserving the integrity of the electoral process. We will therefore continue to scrutinize the processes before, during and after the elections to consolidate our democracy.Let My Vote CountDon’t Destroy Our Democracy!!!

David Asante - Convener