EC GATHERING INFO ON REGISTRATION (p.3) 09-08-08

Story: Kobby Asmah and Kofi Yeboah

THE Electoral Commission (EC) is gathering information to enable it decide as to whether or not to extend the limited registration exercise which will officially end tommorrow.
Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commission told the Daily Graphic in a telephone chat yesterday that members of the Commission were to meet formally yesterday or today to take a firm decision on the on-going exercise.
He said that so far the exercise had gone down well in a number of places but it was still important for the Commisioners to meet formally on the exercise in view of reported electoral abuses in some registration centres.
He indicated that the commission had recieved a number of requests including that from the Ministry of the Interior for it to extend the registration exercise and it was in the process of considering them.
A deputy chairman of the EC, Mr David Adenze Kanga, also told the Daily Graphic in a separate interview that the commission was giving a serious consideration to a request by the Minister of the Interior for an extension of the ongoing voter registration exercise to enable eligible people who are yet to register to do so.
Mr Kanga said efforts were underway to convene a meeting of all the commissioners to consider the minister’s request for an extension of the exercise.
“We are treating it with all importance because it is coming from the highest level of national security,” he said.
In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, dated August 7, 2008, the Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, requested the EC to extend the voter registration exercise following security reports that the long queues, rancour, tension and violence that had characterised the exercise had prevented many eligible voters from registering.
“In the light of the foregoing and in the interest of peace and tranquillity in the country, it would be appreciated if the exercise will be extended to enable all eligible voters to register,” the minister said in the letter.
Responding, Mr Kanga said the EC was treating the minister’s letter with all importance and as such, it was contacting all the commissioners to get their opinion on the matter.
When asked whether the commission was likely to extend the exercise after the consultation, the deputy commissioner calmly but firmly replied, “I won’t respond to that.”
He could also not tell how soon the commissioners would meet and discuss the matter because at the moment, they were all scattered around the country.
“We will surely make a determination but not now”, he added, explaining that it could be possible on the last day of registration on Sunday, the long queues would have disappeared and so there would be no need for an extension.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that some people are cashing in on the registration exercise by going to the centres early to form queues, sometimes with stones, only to sell their positions to others desperately wanting to register.
This practice has contributed to the long queues being experienced at many of the registration centres across the country.
Commenting on the situation in another interview with the Daily Graphic, the Chairman of the EC, Dr Afari-Gyan, described the practice as “morally reprehensible”.
He urged the public and the media in particular to expose those involved in such practices.
Dr Afari-Gyan said the situation was difficult to handle because it was not very easy to determine who in a queue genuinely wanted to register.
The EC Chairman, who at the time of the interview was on a tour of the Volta Region, said the exercise in the region was smooth, adding that there were no long queues as was the case in other parts of the country.