UGITD Deputy Director Rejects Claims of Manipulation in University’s SRC E-Voting System

The University of Ghana Information Technology Directorate (UGITD) has dismissed allegations that the University’s electronic voting system can be manipulated to alter results during Student Representative Council (SRC) elections.

Deputy Director of IT Services at UGITD, Patrick Kuti, said the Directorate does not have a hidden “backend” through which election results can be changed, describing such claims as unfounded.

Speaking on Radio Univers’ Parliament on Air programme during a discussion on allegations of vote buying and election rigging at the University of Ghana, Mr Kuti explained that UGITD becomes involved in the electoral process after the UGSRC Electoral Commission completes the nomination and vetting stages.

He said the IT Directorate works independently to prepare the electronic voting platform once the Electoral Commission provides the necessary details for the election.

According to him, voting results are generated automatically when polls close, eliminating the need for manual counting or collation.

Mr Kuti challenged anyone who has credible evidence of technological manipulation to present it to the Directorate for investigation, insisting that the system is designed to produce results based on how students actually vote.

He also disclosed that the University has previously cancelled an SRC election after investigations uncovered cases of voter impersonation involving some student associations.

He explained that some students had allegedly obtained the student identification details of newly admitted students and used them to vote on their behalf.

Following the incident, the University introduced an additional security layer requiring unique voting tokens sent to students through their institutional email addresses and linked to their registered phone numbers.

Meanwhile, former UGSRC General Secretary aspirant Micheline Asempapa has called on the UGSRC Electoral Commission to intensify voter education on the electronic voting system.

She argued that better communication with students and candidates would help address misconceptions, reduce speculation and improve confidence in the electoral process.

The discussion comes ahead of the 2025/2026 UGSRC elections, with renewed calls for greater transparency, voter education and clearer communication about the electronic voting process.