Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC) on Thursday stated categorically that the 40-day Biometric Voter Registration exercise would not be extended at the end of the period.

“The EC will not entertain any appeal for extension,” he stressed and urged all potential electorate to take full advantage of the period allocated to their polling stations and register.

He urged the political parties to encourage the electorate to register and not wait for the extension of the exercise.

Dr Afari-Gyan told the Ghana News Agency that the exercise is a complete replacement of the existing voters register, and thereby renders any previous voter registration invalid for purposes of voting in the upcoming elections.

He revealed that about 12 million eligible voters are expected to be registered in the upcoming nationwide biometric registration exercise.

Dr Afari-Gyan said as part of measures to inject vigilance into the process, EC personnel, Commission members, agents of political parties and the media would monitor the exercise.

The EC Chairman said as part of equipping stakeholders to appreciate the biometric voter registration, the Commission had engaged identifiable groups including journalists, military, police, prisons, religious leaders and political parties.

The 40-day registration exercise will be held at the polling station levels with four polling stations coming together to form a cluster for the exercise.

Dr Afari-Gyan, said measures had been taken to ensure that data captured during the registration process was secured.

To this end, a technical committee has been set up comprising staff of the EC and representatives from the political parties to examine ways of achieving data security.

All is set to begin the first-ever biometric voter registration ahead of December’s general election.**