<<Print>>

The two main political parties are in good company with the Electoral Commission�s deferment of the planned registration of prisoners in the just-ended biometric registration exercise. The Electoral Commission deferred the registration indefinitely to allow prison authorities enough time to verify the true identities of the inmates. Officials of the Electoral Commission say they will make the necessary arrangements to register the prisoners as soon as the matter is resolved. The main opposition NPP says the EC�s decision to suspend the registration of prisoners is a step in the right direction. Its General Secretary, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie told XYZ News the mere postponement of the registration of prisoners doesn�t amount to a contravention of the Supreme Court ruling which gave prisoners the right to vote in national elections. He said �I think that the courts were right when they gave them the right to be able to exercise their franchise but� the judgement of the Supreme Court also presented some difficulties to the EC. He said the EC should not be faulted for the delay but should be supported to carry out the court judgement. Similarly, the National Organizer of the ruling NDC Yaw Boateng Gyan told XYZ News his party agrees with the indefinite suspension of the registration of prisoners. According to him, the EC could not lay out the modalities for registering prisoners early enough due to the legal battles surrounding the matter and that it is right for the EC to suspend the process until further notice.