Accra, Dec. 22, GNA - The New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Tuesday urged the public, particularly members of the party, to register during the ongoing exercise by the National Identification Authority (NIA). The party said in a statement signed by Mr Kwaku Kwarteng, Communications Director, that while the long queues at the registration points may be inconveniencing, it was "far more disadvantageous to have one's name out of the national register being compiled".

The NPP said the mass registration of Ghanaians and foreign nationals permanently resident in Ghana would be used as the basis for providing service to citizens and permanent residents of Ghana, and for carrying out national exercises.

It said the National Identification Authority Act, 2006, required the NIA to "make data in its custody available to persons or institutions authorised by law to access the data".

The NPP said: "The Electoral Commissioner is one such institution. The national register currently being compiled by the National Identification Authority could therefore be used as a basis for compiling the biometric voters register for all future elections in the country. "The New Patriotic Party is therefore calling on all Ghanaians, and in particular NPP members and sympathisers, to take active interest in the ongoing national registration exercise, and to ensure that their names enter the national register."