The Electoral Commission has postponed the compilation of a new voter’s register which was scheduled to commence on April 18.
The electoral body did not also commit to any specific date in future when the controversial exercise that has divided political parties in Ghana would be held.
However, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, Director of Electoral Services told journalists that the Commission was compelled to suspend next month’s exercise due to the deadly coronavirus that has already claimed 3 lives in Ghana as of March 25.
The fast spreading pandemic has affected over 440,000 people worldwide and 68 in Ghana, forcing many nations to turn to God for succor.
Dr. Serebour Quaicoe was addressing the media after an Inter-Party Advisory Committee meeting in Accra on Wednesday.
“We had planned to do the registration on the 18th but because of the pandemic, we can’t do it on the 18th, so, we are observing what is happening around Ghana and the global issue…so, when it gets to a time that we think the situation is fertile for us to commence with the registration then we can do it.”
According to Dr. Quaicoe, “We are with the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and other experts; they are also monitoring the situation advising us.”
So far, six political parties led by the largest opposition party, National Democratic Congress, have waged an intense campaign against the compilation, indicating it is needless and a wasteful venture. But the governing New Patriotic Party and some other smaller parties are all for the exercise.
Nonetheless, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe explained: “We have made it very clear that the current biometric system is not good enough for future activities. We are having a lot of challenges with it.
“In addition to that, a lot of people have found it difficult to have their fingerprints picked up by the machine so we intend to introduce the facial recognition [option] in addition so that if your fingerprint fails, your image will be used for verification.”
Source: 3news.com | Ghana