The election management body will soon commence the compilation of a new biometric voters’ roll for next year’s elections.

This is because the registers used for previous elections were compiled in election years and currently the EC was not late with a new biometric voters’ register.

 Dr Serebour Quaicoe, the Director of Elections at the EC, however, dismissed claims that the Commission had been late with the compilation of a new biometric voters’ register for the national polls.

 “In 2004, we compiled a new register in that election year, in 2012, we compiled a new register, we are not late to compile a new register for the 2020 elections, “we have almost concluded the timetable for the 2020 elections and we will make them available to the political parties soon,” Dr Quaicoe stressed.

The Electoral Commission (EC) has stated that its current system is outdated and weak hence the request for GH¢444,846,663 to compile a new biometric voters’ register before the 2020 general election.

The Commission is currently facing numerous challenges with the biometric verification system which need to be updated because the  fingerprints could not be recognised and with the new one that it wants to introduce, will add facial recognition,  if the fingers fail to use the face to verify.

The Commission on Tuesday, December 17, 2019 asked Parliament to approve GH¢444,846,663 for the compilation of a new biometric voters’ register prior to the 2020 general election which has raised eyebrows and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has kicked against the new biometric voters’ register.

They believe the EC was purposefully attempting to disenfranchise some people with the new register but the Commission indicated that with manual verification on the high, the essence of biometric was being defeated since it was introduced to curb multiple registrations, voting and impersonation.

The EC warned that should things be left as it is, the system may fail at some point.