General News of Saturday, 28 April 2012Source: peacefmonline The Electoral Commission (EC) has rejected claims that they are deliberately orchestrating events in the on-going biometric voter registration to favour a particular political party.

The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), on Friday, accused the EC of sabotaging them. The party cried foul over shortage of registration materials, especially in the Volta Region which they consider to be their strong hold.

The party’s National Propaganda Secretary, Richard Quashigah, in a press statement wondered whether it a planned effort by the EC to disenfranchise potential voters in that region in the up-coming December polls.

In an interview with Shamima Muslim on the Citi Eye Witness News, Richard Quashigah said the NDC believes there is some conspiracy going on by some individuals hence the shortage of registration materials in the Volta Region, adding that the NDC has lodged a complaint with the EC, but there no action appears to have been taken on their claims.

But speaking on the same platform, the Acting Public Affairs Director of the EC, Christian Owusu Parry, said the EC is a “credible institution” and will never be involved in any act of sabotage.

“I have been told that the Volta region are asking for more materials and we are working on it…I do not think that anybody in the Electoral Commission will deliberately keep the registration materials; that is not what we do. We are a credible institution… If the forms run out, the request for more forms are made and supply is done; nobody is interested in sabotaging any party…” he said.

According to him, the EC has received several reports of shortage of materials in various regions and attempts are being made to provide for all those regions.

“…if there are shortages in some centres, the Regional Directors have to mobilize for more forms from places that have more than enough and where there are not long queues of people registering…I assure you that the EC will follow up on the complaints lodged by the NDC and ensure that every polling centre has enough materials for the exercise,” he added.