Politics of Wednesday, 25 April 2012

Source: GNA

Set aside some more days for the Biometric Registration - Ashaiman MP

Mr Alfred Kwame Agbesi, Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, has appealed to the Electoral Commission (EC) to set aside some extra days for the Biometric Registration exercise, in order to ensure that more Ghanaians got registered.

Mr Agbesi’s appeal followed a visit to some registration centres in Ashaiman on Tuesday, the last day of the third phase of the exercise, during which he was informed about the frequent break-down of some of the electoral machines.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at the Oko Mantey Registration Centre where the machine broke down from Saturday, April 21 to Monday, April 23, he said as a result of the challenges faced by the EC during the exercise, it meant that a lot of Ghanaians would remain unregistered at the end of the exercise.

Mr Abgesi said it was expedient for the Commission to take steps to extend the date of the exercise, to ensure that majority of Ghanaians exercised their civic responsibilities to get registered.

“I don’t think anybody must be dis-enfranchised, come December. The EC must, therefore, consider the plight of unregistered Ghanaians, by putting their names on the Register”.

The Ashaiman MP advised his constituents who would be covered under the fourth and last phase of the exercise, beginning from Thursday, April 26, not to wait until the last day when there would be tension and long queues, but to ensure that they registered as early as possible.**